


Leave The Lights On

by pleasanthell



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-24
Updated: 2012-10-04
Packaged: 2017-11-12 18:24:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 104,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/494275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pleasanthell/pseuds/pleasanthell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You walk into the elementary school teacher's lounge. Your first day as the resident doctor for the Lima School District was exhausting. Your office is set up in the admin building across town and all you want is a cup of coffee. You look helplessly around the lounge where the teachers are scattered. You hear an airy giggle next to you. "Come on. You can sit with me."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: Very Loud by Shout Out Louds

You walk into the elementary school teacher's lounge. Your first day as the resident doctor for the Lima School District was exhausting. Your office is set up in the admin building across town and all you want is a cup of coffee.

This isn't the worst job you could get. The district will pay off your med school loans in exchange for three years of dirt-cheap work. You thought it would be hell but you've learned that not all children are whiny monsters.

You look helplessly around the lounge where the teachers are scattered. You never like having to meet new people. It always makes you nervous so you wipe your hand on the front of your scrubs and step in.

You make your way to the coffee machine and pick up a foam cup from the stack. A blonde with her hair up in a sleek ponytail is washing her strawberries in the adjacent sink and is partially blocking the coffee pot so you just stand to the side and wait.

A few seconds later she sees you. With a disarming smile she apologizes and moves to the other side of the sink.

You fill up your coffee and fix it with creamer and sugar like you've drunk it since high school.

Now is the hard part. Where to sit? You don't want to seem like a snob and sit alone (you made that mistake at the middle school and now most of the teachers give you dirty looks) and you don't want to just join a group (that gets awkward fast).

You hear an airy giggle next to you. "Come on. You can sit with me." the blonde picks up her strawberries and makes her way to an empty table by the window.

"Thank god," you utter under your breath and follow her.

Once you're seated, she smiles brightly, "You looked lost."

"I'm new," you say for the millionth time that week.

She glances down at your scrubs, "You're the new district doctor?"

You nod.

"I'm Brittany. Kindergarten."

"Santana," you tell her. She look like a kindergarten teacher, all friendly and approachable.

"How do you like working here?" she asks casually, taking a bite of a strawberry.

"It's a, um, different than I thought it would be," you say. You don't wanna offend her and tell her it's boring most of the time and you're jumping ship the second your contract is up.

She laughs and you find yourself smiling without reason. "Any sick kids?"

"A couple. Some paper cuts and a sprained ankle," you shrug.

"All the kids have been nice?"

You nod. "Most of them anyway." then you remember this morning and smile. "There is this sweet little girl that walked her friend to the infirmary and sat with her the whole time. She wanted to know everything I was doing and why. She's a smart kid for being so young."

"Yeah?" Brittany asks covering her mouth as she chews.

"Yeah. Her name was... I don't remember her first name but her last name was Pierce. No idea why I remembered that." you take a sip of your coffee that you almost forgot about.

Brittany chuckles, "Blonde hair and blue eyes? Pink and white polka dotted dress?"

You nod. Must be a smaller school than you thought. "Is she one of your students?"

"She's my daughter," Brittany says easily before taking a bite of her fruit.

You almost choke on your coffee and instead just ungracefully spill it on yourself. "Oh."

The bright laughter bubbled up from the blonde, "But I'm glad to hear she's taking care of the other kids."

"She's great," you look around and try to think of a good reason to leave before you make more of an ass of yourself. Of course you've really already put your foot in your mouth.

* * *

"Hey," the bouncy little girl from yesterday skips in.

You're totally confused. She looks fine. No bruises, no woozy, no bleeding. "Um, hi?"

"I'm supposed to be in the library," she states, studying you. Little kids never made you nervous before. But this one...

You sit down on your examination stool and close the folder in your hand. "Then why aren't you there?"

"I saw you in here. You look lonely." she rocks back on her heels. "It's ok. I was going to the library because I finished my work first and got bored."

"I see." You nod, checking out the door behind the girl for some other adult to rescue you.

"You're Dr. Lopez?"

You nod.

"What's your first name?"

"Why do you want to know?" you tilt your head.

She grins. "My mom says friends know each other by their first names. I wanna be your friend."

"I don't know your name though."

"Summer."

"Your name is Summer?"

She nods, her blonde hair bouncing.

"I'm Santana."

"I like your name. It's weird." She scrunches up her nose.

You look sideways at the girl. "Thanks?"

"You're welcome." You see an innate kindness in her eyes at her mother has. They're very approachable and that scares you. From your experience these nice people are just Trojan Horses carrying an emotional turmoil that you don't need right now.

But she's just a kid. You've got to stop thinking like that. Kids are typically honest unless cookies are involved.

You both stare at each other until finally you decide to be the adult. "You should get to the library."

She grins at you like that's funny. You just keep a straight face. Maybe working with kids is a bad idea.

"Do you like muffins?" she asks out of nowhere instead of leaving.

You nod. Maybe you have to play along to get her feet moving.

"Blueberry?"

You nod again.

Then just like that she turns around and walks out making a barely audible effort to say, "Bye Santana."

You just stare after her. Finally you get back to work. Kids baffle you.

* * *

You get to work early the next day because you can't find anything to do in this town worth doing so you went to bed early leading you to wake up early. Laying in bed and watching movies on your laptop is not how you anticipated your glamorous life as a doctor would end up being. Of course you never planned to work with kids either. Especially work that someone with an LVN is over qualified to do.

So you stop by your office and take care of some paperwork before you get in your car and head to the elementary school. It starts before the middle and high school so it makes sense to go there first. That way you can sweep the kids who were too sick to come to school in the first place back out before heading to the middle school.

You do have to say that you enjoy wearing the green scrubs that the district allows you. They definitely save you time when you're getting ready for work. Scrubs, ponytail, sneakers, and enough make-up to not look like a zombie, or homeless, and you're good to go.

When you walk into the infirmary before the bell rings to start the day, you use your foot to pull your examination stool to you and sit on it. You push off of the ground and roll to the counter that you use as a desk. There are some memos for you in a stack on the counter. Policy changes and a request from the superintendent for you to write a letter to all the parents about the importance to instilling the habit of washing hands to the children. That'll be super fun. You're not a good writer. That's why you're a doctor. Science doesn't require finesse with words. It requires the ability to state fact and not coddle parents whose children are gross and don't wash their hands.

You pull a pen out of the top drawer and start to make a list of things you need to put into the letter. You turn the memo over and start to write on it. You get as far as testing the pen to make sure it works before there's a knock. You swivel around on the stool. At the door, you find Brittany the kindergarten teacher and her daughter Summer. Upon seeing the teacher a smile pops onto your face although you don't know why.

Summer grins at you with a basket of muffins in her arms. Not a tray or a tin of muffins. A real, honest to goodness basket. And they look homemade. You watch as Summer rocks on her toes and looks up at her mom. Brittany nods and Summer walks up to Santana, handing her the basket. "We made you some blueberry muffins."

"Thanks," you finally spit out. No one has ever made you blueberry muffins before or any kind of baked good for that matter.

"You're welcome," Summer smiles at you again. "I have to go to class. Have a nice day."

You have to say that baffled is a little of an understatement at this point. You look up at Brittany who just watches her daughter run off to class with a hint of a smile on her face.

"She is really sweet," you offer, placing the basket on the counter.

Brittany nods, "She is. But I've never seen her want to do something nice for someone so much before."

You shrug, "Maybe she feels sorry for me. I'm hopelessly lost most of the time and the high school teachers don't like me."

Brittany walks into the room more and sits down on the plastic chair a few feet from you, "The high school teachers just don't like people at first. You're a doctor and you're very beautiful. They're just jealous."

You actually feel yourself blush. That is certainly not something that's ever happened before. "I um, they're just..." You find yourself fluster under the gaze of the blue eyes.

She smiles kindly anyway. She crosses one leg over the other, her foot almost touching your shin in the process. She folds her hands around her knee. "They can be just like their students."

"That is no joke," you have to look away from her in order to speak. You pick up your pen again just to have something to do with at least one of your hands.

The bell rings and Brittany stands. "If you're here again for lunch, you're more than welcome to sit with me."

That does make you smile. You look up and meet her eyes. She has this ability to make it so that you feel like you're special. You bet her students love her. She's like an angel...

She giggles. You quickly look away because you're pretty sure that you were staring for an inappropriate amount of time. You're helpless and entranced as she exits the room, into a sea of children who all say hello to her.

* * *

Even if you had to drive all the way back across town from the high school, you're going to have lunch with Brittany. You didn't bring anything to eat for lunch from home because you were just going to eat alone at a deli instead of having to deal with judgey teachers walking by your office at the high school or the numerous invitations that you had at the admin building. So you're armed with two muffins from the basket you left at your office.

You walk into the teacher's lounge with them and a water bottle. You stop in the doorway of the teacher's lounge and look around for Brittany. You don't know why you're so crestfallen when you don't see her. You contemplate leaving when you feel a hand on the small of your back. A tingle shoots up your spine and you inhale sharply. When you turn you find Brittany holding a paper bag, a bright smile on her face. "You came."

All you can seem to do is nod.

"If you want to have lunch with someone else, I understand, but I have to spend lunch in the home ec classroom," Brittany explains, "I was volunteered by my enthusiastic daughter to make fortune cookies for the cultural fair which is tonight. I'm going to spend lunch learning how to make fortune cookies." She gestures to the bag in her hand, which you assume hold the ingredients.

"We can have lunch some other time if you're busy," you say although you were kind of excited about having someone to eat lunch with.

"Is that your way of telling me that you don't want to watch me make crooked fortune cookies?" Brittany asks with a playful smile.

"Of course not," you say. There's that smile again. You gesture to the hallway. "Lead the way."

The home ec classroom looks more like a science room that turned into a storage room. Most of the black counter tops are dusty and there are boxes in most of the back half of the classroom. In the front half, all the stools are stacked on top of the desks. Brittany sets her bag down next to a white stove that is between two sides of the long black counter across one side of the far wall. There's a stool sitting next to the oven. You can see that she's already been in here for a while because of some dirty bowls in the sink closer to the front of the classroom and you can feel the heat from the oven.

Brittany takes a stool off of the table and sets it next to the one she was using. She pats the top of it before spreading some waxed paper on the counter in front of her and moving to the oven. "So, how'd you end up in Lima?"

You exhale. "They were looking for a doctor and I was looking for someone to pay off my loans."

She smiles. "That makes sense." She opens the oven, slides on a glove, and pulls out a pant of little circular, tan cookie looking things.

"What about you?" you ask, then take your first bite of your first muffin. It is a really great muffin.

"I was born here," she says, taking a spatula and moving the cookies to the waxed paper. "I went to college here at Ohio State - Lima Campus. My parents live like four blocks from my house."

"Oh, cool," you nod. There's no way you could afford a house in your parents' neighborhood for at least another five years.

"Where are you from?" she asks, sitting on her stool.

"Chicago," you state. "But I went to med school at Case Western in Cleveland." Just like your parents wanted. Where your dad went to med school. Where your dad specialized in orthopedics. Like you did.

"That's really cool," Brittany smiles. She carefully picks up the first cookie and reaches inside of the paper bag to extract a tiny sliver of paper. It takes her a moment to figure out exactly how to fold it, but after the first few they actually start to look like fortune cookies.

"Did you always want to be a district doctor?" she asks, as she continues churning out fortune cookies.

You almost snort. This is on the opposite end of what you wanted to do. Well it's opposite of what your parents wanted you to do. You can't say it's ideal for you either.

"I guess that's a no," she chuckles.

"I just needed to slow down," you answer. "I've been in school for most of my life. I just needed somewhere to slow down."

"Lima is definitely somewhere to slow down," Brittany nods to herself as she continues folding.

You feel bad just sitting there and eating so you offer to help. She waves you off. "It's fine. If that's what you're eating for lunch, I bet you didn't have breakfast."

You duck your head. "I did not."

"Isn't that the most important meal of the day, doctor?" she asks with a coy smirk.

You roll your eyes just as playfully and she full on laughs. It's such a light laugh that you feel like her laugh has the power to make everyone in the world smile. It certainly works on you.

A comfortable silence settles over you both and you just sit there, munching on your muffin and watching her make fortune cookies.

"Hey Brittany," a woman's voice drifts in from the door. You both turn around and the woman looks surprised to see you. "Hey, Dr. Lopez." She taps a clipboard against her leg.

You give an awkward wave while Brittany smiles, "Hey Tina. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you could cover the Germany booth tonight," Tina asked, "I just went over the sign up sheet and Coach Puckerman wrote down Anita Fagina again in the Germany spot."

"Sorry," Brittany held up a cookie that she folded. "I was volunteered for the Japan booth."

Tina's eyes move to you and you know what she's about to ask you. You try desperately to think of an excuse. Some made up plans or something to get out of going. In your panic, you look to Brittany who is folding a fortune into a cookie, blonde wisps falling out of her ponytail and brushing against her face. All thoughts exit your head and you find yourself agreeing to man the Germany booth.

Tina grins. "Thank you so much." She moves her pencil to the clipboard and pauses, "I'm sorry. I don't know your first name."

"Santana," Brittany answers for you. There's a beautiful way that your name rolls off of her tongue and you find yourself smiling stupidly.

"Thanks Santana," Tina says. "See you both tonight."

You blink a few times after Tina leaves and pick up a half done cookie. Then you reach into the paper bag and try to figure out how Brittany is making the cookies.

"You don't have to do that," Brittany says, placing another one of her folded cookies onto the cookie sheet.

You continue helping though. "It's okay. I'm now the delegate from Germany. This is a diplomatic gesture."

She giggles and bumps her shoulder against yours. "I'm glad you're going to be there."

For some reason that gives you butterflies. You wonder if she has this effect on everyone. "Really?"

"Totally," Brittany grins.

"I don't have to wear like a yodeler skirt or anything do I?" you ask a few minutes later. That really does worry you.

Brittany belly laughs and shakes her head. "No. I'm probably going to be wearing this. You can wear jeans or those if you want." She gestures to your scrubs.

"Oh good," you let out.

The bell rings just as she puts the cookies in the oven. You check your watch. You were supposed to have that letter to the parents to the superintendent right now. "Oh crap. I gotta go."

"Thank you," Brittany reaches forward and wraps her arms around your shoulders.

You're a little stunned at first. You're not really a hugger, but this, like everything else that Brittany does, is nice. "I only made a few lopsided cookies."

She chuckles and pulls away. "It was nice to not have to do it alone." The way she says alone makes you a little curious. She emphasized alone and her smile faltered for a moment.

Before you can ask, she turns to clean up her mess. "Thanks again. I'll see you tonight at six."

"Six," you nod and let your gaze linger a bit before walking out.


	2. Chapter 2: Mira by Melody Gardot

When you arrive to the gym where the culture fair is happening, Tina immediately seeks you out and points you to the Germany booth. You're glad that you got to run home and change into some jeans. You would have felt a little weird in scrubs.

You look down at the little bags of pretzels and bread that you are pretty sure is pumpernickel. You find a piece of paper outlining what you're supposed to do. Basically hand out food. That you can do. You're just really awkward with kids. Even worse with kids' parents.

You look around for the Japan booth. You spot the white flag with the red dot on it, but no Brittany. You sigh.

When the first kids come in with their parents, you straighten out the little bags on the carbs on the table and get ready for the onslaught.

Kids are asking you questions and parents are chatting you up when you look through the crowd and see her. Brittany's standing behind the Japan booth talking to a shaggy haired blonde man. He laughs and she does too. You wonder if that's her husband or something.

As you're looking, her eyes find yours. She smiles wider and waves at you. You automatically smile and wave back. The blonde man steals her attention again and you look away from her. You wish that she could have come over or just...looked at you longer.

But that's stupid. You put on a smile for the parents in front of you and hand the kids the food.

You're about out of supplies by the time you hear someone on the intercom announce that it's almost over. Someone won a dinner to some place in town from a raffle. You weren't sure what the point of this thing was. Culture sure, but you're not entirely sure how authentic everything is.

The crowd has thinned considerably not even a minute later. You can see most of the teachers are talking amongst themselves and you're alone in your little eastern European region. You sit down in the chair and sigh. You wonder if all three years are going to be like this. People shun you because you're a doctor and not a teacher.

"Hi Santana!" Summer calls to you from across the gym. You look up and see the little blonde girl. She's pulling Brittany behind her toward you. You subconsciously smooth out your hair and take a deep breath to calm yourself. When she gets close enough Summer looks up at you, "We're going to get pizza. Do you wanna come?"

Your mouth opens, but you have to check to make sure this is okay with Brittany first. The tallest blonde smiles at you without hesitation. "I know the best place in town. Unless you've filled up on German food." She pokes one of the left over bags of pretzels.

A laugh escapes you. "Oh no. I did not eat any of the local cuisine." You put your hands in the pockets of your jeans and rock back on your heels, "Pizza sounds great."

"Awesome," Brittany pulls some keys out of her pocket. "I'm going to go grab my purse and then we can leave."

You nod and pick up your own purse. Summer looks to be staying with you so you follow her to the door leading out of the gym where you both wait for Brittany.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Summer asks looking up at you.

You quirk an eyebrow at her, but shake your head in a reply. You haven't had a boyfriend in years. Friends with benefits, yes. But nothing serious. It was just too much to deal with through med school.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Summer looks around the empty area around you both.

This time both of your eyebrows rise up. That wasn't something you expected. You didn't think that Lima would be the kind of town to be a welcoming place for things like that. You shake your head again.

A grin that you didn't expect crosses Summer's face, "Awesome."

"Hey girls," Brittany says walking up to you both. She reaches down just as Summer reaches up and they hold hands, "Do you want to follow us or ride with us?" She asks you.

You readjust the strap on your bag. "I actually walked here. I can follow you if it's any trouble. My car is just down the street."

"You live at those apartments?" Brittany asks, starting to walk toward the doors to the outside.

You nod. They're not the nicest apartments in town, but they're close to work. You don't need all that much room anyway.

"Oh cool," Brittany opens the door to the outside for you and Summer. "You can ride with us and we'll drop you off afterwards."

Brittany's car isn't all that new, but it's clean and it smells good. It's obviously the car of a mom because when you first sit down, you sit on a toy.

Summer buckles herself in the backseat and you make yourself as comfortable as possible. You're always scared that you'll do or say something wrong around Brittany even though you're sure it was would extremely hard to piss her off.

The drive is short and filled with Summer singing along to the music drifting from the radio. She makes you and Brittany both laugh a few times with her imitations.

Lima at night is like being alone. It's quiet and warm. You don't like it. You miss traffic noises and all night stores and restaurants. One night you made the mistake of waiting until ten to try to order some Thai food and found that single Asian food restaurant in the town closes at 9:30.

The restaurant looks like a small house that's been converted into a restaurant. Brittany smiles over at you before she turns off the car. She gets out and you do as well. You wait patiently for Summer to get out and open the door for them.

"Hey guys," the hostess beams when she sees Brittany and Summer.

"Hey Rachel," Brittany smiles back. "Three tonight."

"Ooh," Rachel wiggles her eyebrows, but Brittany subtly shakes her head. You catch it, but have no idea what it means. You decide not to dwell on it and enjoy the cozy feel of the small restaurant.

Rachel seems bored after Brittany shakes her head and leans on her host station. "Sit wherever. I'll send Mike out with your usual."

"Thank you Rachel." Brittany walks into the main part of the restaurant. There are only a few tables occupied and you like the place just a little more. The wooden walls make it feel welcoming, like it's someone's house and they're having you over for dinner.

"I hope you like cheese pizza," Brittany says as you both follow Summer to a table in the back, "I can get Mike to get you something else."

"Cheese is great," you answer. You're not super picky when it comes to pizza, although you still want some damn Thai food.

Summer races to the table when you get close and she pulls out a chair looking at you. She clears her throat when you just look at her. You figure she's pulling your chair out for you so you sit down. "Thank you Summer."

"You're welcome," Summer replies and hops to the chair next to you.

Brittany sits across from you, eyeing her daughter suspiciously.

A man walks up to the table. "Good evening ladies."

"Hey Mike," Brittany looks up at him.

"What can I get you to drink?" he starts with you.

You shrug. You'd like a nice Chianti, but you're not sure this is the place for it. "Iced tea please."

He nods with a charming smile. He's kinda cute in his white t-shirt and black pants. He looks to Summer. "Hey kiddo. Lemonade tonight?"

Summer nods. "And Mommy wants wine."

Brittany's head whips over to her little girl. "No I don't. I'm driving tonight."

"I can drive if you want to have some," you offer. You wonder why Summer things Brittany is going to drink. Maybe she drinks a lot. Of course you've known a lot of alcoholics and Brittany does not fit the bill.

"No," Brittany shook her head. "I'm just going to have water."

Mike chuckles and nods. "I'll be right back with all those and your pizza."

"Do you like being a doctor?" Summer asks you as soon as Mike walks off.

"Yeah," you nod. Things are getting really weird, but you suppose questions like that are to be expected from a child.

"Have you ever been married?" Summer asks, leaning her chin into her palm.

"Summer!" Brittany squeals. "That's enough." She turns to you. "I'm sorry. She's not usually this nosey."

You shrug. "It's no problem."

Mike returns with the drinks and the pizza on a tray together. The pizza is placed in the middle of the table and the drinks were passed out. He gives everyone a plate and asks if you need anything.

Summer keeps staring at you and you're not sure what's wrong. You've wiped your mouth a few times to make sure that there's nothing on it. You put your pizza down and mention. "This pizza is great."

Brittany nods as she chews. After she swallows, she adds, "I've been coming here since I was a kid."

You wonder what it was like growing up here. Brittany seems to know everyone in town. You decide to ask. You can't make new friend without knowing things about them.

"It was nice," she smiles. "I have great friends that I've known forever."

You nod with your eyes on the table. That is not something you know a lot about. You haven't known anyone forever and usually you don't pick the best of people to befriend. Except Brittany. She seems like a great person, sweet and stable. She has a smart, friendly kid.

Mike walks over after you've all pretty much stopped eating and places the check on the table. Before you can even register that you want to reach for it, Brittany plucks it off of the table.

"Oh, I can-" you attempt, but Brittany shakes her head.

"I got it," Brittany smiles, "We took you out so it's on us." She places some cash on top of the ticket and hands it back to Mike.

"Thank you for dinner," you say as you step out into the night.

"It's not a problem," she opens your car door for you.

You love how chivalrous these two are with the opening doors and pulling out chairs. You see Summer skip past you and hop into her seat in the back.

When Brittany gets in, she starts the car and turns the lights on. The radio is playing some kind of soft music that's about to lull you to sleep.

"Thanks for helping out today," Brittany says softly on the way home. "At lunch and with the fair."

You look over at her. Her face in the glow of the dashboard panel make her look so surreal. You take a long breath, breathing in her perfume and the smell of her car. It's just so nice. "I had fun."

"You did?" she asks. You're at a stoplight so she looks over at you.

You smile softly and nod. "Some of the parents were a little..." you glance back at Summer in the backseat and find her asleep. "Bitchy, but the fair was fun. And lunch was great."

"I'm glad you had fun," she smiles back at you. You can feel her eyes tracing your face from your eyes, to your hair to your nose and lips.

The lights turns green, washing you both in the cool color. She turns her eyes back to the road, seemingly reluctantly. You look out the window and watch the sleepy town pass you by. "Not much of a nightlife around here is there?"

She chuckles, "Not really."

When she pulls into the apartment complex, you guide her to the back where your apartment is. She pulls to a stop and places the car in park.

"Thank you for joining us for dinner," she looks over at you. "I'm sure Summer thought that you being there was the best thing ever."

"It was really fun," you reply, "The most fun I've had since I moved here. Maybe sometime I could return the favor?"

"I'd like that," she tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

You find that gesture so endearing that you just watch her fingers move so gracefully from her ear, onto the steering wheel. You catch yourself before it gets awkward and grab your purse. "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure," she smiles. "Maybe we can have lunch again. I promise this time I won't make you work."

You giggle and open your door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she replies.

You close the door and make your way up to your apartment all the while being so grateful that Brittany is your friend. She's really great and so sweet.


	3. Chapter 3: Rise To The Sun by Alabama Shakes

You're in your office in the elementary school the next morning, getting ready for the first wave of sick kids. You check all the cabinets and you're in the middle of reaching for a box of latex gloves on the top shelf when you get frustrated. You're just staring at the box, willing for it to fall down to you when you see an arm reach up past your head and grab it.

You turn around so your back is pressing against the counter. You're a little less alarmed when you see Brittany with the box in her hand. You smile and accept the box from her. "Thanks."

"No problem," she says with a grin.

She starts to walk out, but you stop her. "Hey, do you know any place to get Thai food in town?"

"I know one, but you don't want to eat there," she leans on the doorway. "There's one the next town over."

"Can you show me where?" you ask, trying to get her to come with you. "I can take you and Summer to dinner. If it's far, we can go this weekend? Please? I miss Thai food."

She looked hesitant, but your begging must have worn her down. "Saturday? We can go for lunch."

"Awesome," you smile widely. "I'll drive."

You have lunch with Brittany most days during the week. You only miss one because of a meeting you have with the superintendent. He's a nice guy, but seems to have no idea what it is you do or what you're supposed to do.

On Saturday though, you get up early and take a shower. You spend an hour trying to decide what to wear and end up in jeans and cute top anyway. The weather outside is started to turn a little blustery so you grab a jacket on your way out the door.

You're supposed to pick them up at ten, but end up driving around their block a few times, partially because of nerves and partially because you're fifteen minutes early. When you plugged in the address Brittany texted you into your gps, it lied and said that it would take ten minutes to get there. You arrived in five.

It does afford you a fantastic look at their house. It's cute, painted light blue with white trim. You see no indication that anyone lives there, but them, still lending to the mystery of Summer's paternal history. There's a soccer ball in the front yard and Brittany's car is in the driveway. There's a sidewalk with colored chalk drawings all over it, leading up to the two stairs that guide to the small porch. On the porch is a white swing. A rugged looking pillow and blanket are draped haphazardly across it. The front door is a light wood with a polished door knocker. It really is the perfect house for the two bubbly blondes.

You park on the street, by the sidewalk and shut off your car. You're one minute late which you find to be more acceptable than ten minutes early. You fidget with your keys in your hand, the only thing you bring with you out of the car.

Your boots rest softly on the sidewalk and barely make a scratchy noise as you propel yourself toward the house. You find it easier to go toward the house the less you think about it being their house and the more you think about that Brittany's inside.

You find door knockers obnoxious so you ring the doorbell instead and stand a few steps away from the door. You don't want to look too eager.

The door swings open and you have to move your gaze down to see who opened it. Summer beams at you and holds the door open for you. "Hi Santana!"

"Hey Summer," you pat her back when she hugs you around your hips. "Are you guys ready?"

"Mommy's still trying to decide what to wear," Summer pulls you inside and closes the door. "She's been trying on clothes forever."

You chuckle. At least you weren't the only one.

"I'll give you the grand tour," Summer announces and pulls you into the house.

Right off the entryway is a living room. There's a TV and DVD player on a stand and a matching couch and loveseat. A coffee table in front of the couch has a coloring book open on it and a neatly organized crayon box.

"This is the living room," Summer states. Her little fingers are holding firmly to her hand. "But my room is the best." She pulls you down a hallway and to the left. You pass an open door that looks to be a bathroom. It's decorated in an underwater theme. When you get to Summer's room, she lets go of your hand and stands next to you gauging your reaction. The best is a beautiful mix of pinks and whites with a soft yellow canopy hanging over the top. There's a huge wooden dollhouse on one side of the room and more stuffed animals strewn about than you think you've ever seen.

"Wow," you look down at her, "This is the best bedroom I think I've ever seen."

She grins up at you. "C'mon I'll show you the play room." She takes your hand again, this time leading you down the opposite end of the hallway. She pushes open the white door on the other end of the short hallway. There's a hardwood floor in this room. Mirrors line one wall, opposite a wall of windows. There's an art easel in the corner with some painting obviously done by Summer hanging on it.

"I like to paint in here while Mommy dances," she smiles.

It's like you can see it though. It's stunning to think of Brittany dancing in this room, her hair pulled back, moving around like she doesn't have a care in the world. "This room is really cool."

"Summer?" you hear Brittany calling.

You follow the little girl out of the play room and into the living room. "Summer," Brittany's voice is getting closer and she comes into view, running a hand through her straightened hair as she trails off, "Was that Santana at the..." She smiles when she sees you, "Hey. I wish that Summer came back and told me that you were here."

"It's okay," you pull your keys out of your pocket, fidgeting with them again. "She was just giving me a tour."

"Cool," she holds her hand out for Summer to take and picks up her purse from a hidden place next to the couch, "Are you ready?"

"Totally," you say. You lead the way out the door and help Summer into the backseat of your car while Brittany locks the front door.

"Nice car," Brittany says getting into the passenger's seat.

You look around at the tan leather interior of your med school graduation present. "Thanks. My parents got it for me after graduation." You start the car and listen to the European engine purr to life.

You take off down the road and as soon as you're in the middle of nowhere, Summer politely asks for music. Not even one song into the trip, Brittany's phone rings. She apologizes and you urge her to answer it, turning the music down. You have to say that you're curious and you want to know if it's her boyfriend/husband/baby daddy. Of course when she says, "Hi Mom," you know it's not.

After a few seconds, she looks disappointed. "Oh, it's okay," Brittany says softly. "Thanks mom." She hangs up and looks back at Summer. "You're not going with Grandma after school on Tuesday."

"Why not?" Summer asks, apparently disappointed as well.

"Because Grandma is going with her friends to go see a concert in Pennsylvania," Brittany answers. She looks over at you. "My mom's going to see Lady Gaga in Indianapolis."

"Your mom sounds cool," you smile. The last concert your parents went to was probably Led Zeppelin.

"She is," Brittany looks away from you.

Summer pipes up, "Santana can watch me."

"Oh I bet she has better things to do," Brittany shakes her head and shifts in her seat.

"Actually I don't," you say softly just in case Brittany really doesn't want Summer to stay with you for another reason. "If you have something you need to do."

"Really?" Brittany asks. "You don't have to. I can go shopping some other time."

You playfully gasp, "Shopping cannot wait."

Brittany laughs in the seat next to you. "Are you sure? She can be a handful."

"I have no doubt," you glance in the rearview mirror where Summer is having trouble containing her excitement. You're glad that she's so excited. At least two people in this town like you. "But we'll be fine."

"Thank you so much Santana," Brittany reaches over and places her hand on your arm.

"When was the last time you went out?" you ask her. She doesn't look bad at all, but she's a mom. You know it's gotta be hard to get out.

She leaves her hand where it is, "Out where?"

"Just out," you glance over at her. "Like out of this town to have a good time."

"Um," you can see her bite her lip out of the corner of her eye. "I don't get out of Lima much. I can't leave Summer overnight unless it's with my parents and even then, it's only one night."

You smile. Her protectiveness is all kinds of endearing to you. She's a good mom. You never thought you'd be friends with someone who was a mom. They all seem boring and all Desperate Housewives-y. But Brittany's different. You don't know exactly house. There are obvious ways, but there's one huge way that you can't really put your finger on.

You try to think of a way for Brittany to get out of town and have some fun. She's too young to be stuck in this town full time. You drum your fingers on the steering wheel as you pass a city limit sign declaring Delphos, Ohio with a smaller population than Lima.

She guides you to the restaurant and you have to admit the Thai food was way better than you expected it to be. You spend a few minutes looking around the town. When Brittany is looking at some antique chairs in front of a store, you secretly buy Summer some ice cream from a little shop a few stores down. Of course when you get busted, you present Brittany with one of her very own that Summer told you was her favorite. She gives you a beautiful smile that you love putting on her face.

The day is a fun one and you really don't want to have to drop them off, but they have dinner with Brittany's parents and you have a date with an empty apartment and a movie rental. Brittany tells you to call her if you get bored tomorrow. You already know that you'll be bored, but you have to try to figure out the earliest appropriate time to be bored.

So on Sunday, you go grocery shopping with them even though Brittany told you it would be boring. You decide to pick up a few things as well, but it's a lot less and a lot less healthy than what Brittany buys. You enjoy hanging out with both of them, even Summer which is weird because you've never really taken to a kid before.

After splitting up to put groceries away, you take them both to see some animated movie. It's cute and you laughed, but mostly you laughed when Summer cracked up. After the movie, Brittany invites you to dinner with her parents at a restaurant downtown. You politely decline and make up an excuse about work. You don't want to trump on their family time especially when you'd just sit awkwardly at the end of the table.

So you drop them off at the restaurant and drive back to your apartment. You fall down on your bed with a dopey smile on your face. That was hands down the best weekend you had since you moved here.

* * *

You smile and slip into her classroom. You hope she thinks your idea is a good one. She's just done so much for you and something inside of you wants to see her smile every second of everyday.

She must have heard you walking in because she looks up from putting a sticker on someone's paper. She rests her chin in her palm, a blissful smile on her face, "Hey, S."

Your heart soars at the introduction of a nickname. You don't know if it's that no one has ever taken the time to give you a nickname that didn't involve 'bitch' or 'angry', but you smile a little wider because of it. "I have an idea."

She leans back in her chair and chuckles, "Uh oh."

"No, it's a good one," you sit down on the table closest to her desk. "I have to go to a school healthcare conference next weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday." She quirks an eyebrow waiting for the idea part. You tap your feet on the floor, suddenly nervous. Like you're asking her on a date or something. You wipe your hands on your scrub bottoms. "The hotel I'm staying at has one of the best spas in Philadelphia. I thought that you could use a weekend to relax. And I have the hotel for two nights, but we could leave Saturday after the conference. Or if you wanted we could bring Summer and I could cut out of the conference early to take her to a museum or something while you go to the spa."

A slow smile takes over Brittany's face. You decide that marks the end of your sadly desperate rant to get her to go to Philadelphia with you. Her smile reaches all the way up to her eyes and she looks at you like... like you're worth the world.

"What?" you ask, softly. She hasn't said anything and you think that maybe it was too much too soon. You're new to this 'having a really awesome best friend thing'.

"You're sweet," she runs her teeth over her bottom lip and sits up straighter. She leans forward on her desk and you find yourself leaning forward toward her. "Next weekend?"

You nod dumbly, waiting for her answer.

"I'll talk to my parents," she stands up from her desk and rounds it. "But you really need to stop worrying about me." When she gets close enough, she pulls you up and into her arms. The way she hugs you always leaves you breathless. Both of your bodies are pressed together. Her arms around your neck and shoulders hold you securely in place. Your arms find their place across her lower back, your fingers splaying out to feel as much of her warm skin through her shirt as possible.

You can feel her take a deep breath under your arms. She seems to sink farther into you and you want to be there to support her. Your hand slowly trails up her back to her shoulder blade and back down.

You could hold her forever, but she steps away from you. Her arms go up in front of her and she gives you a sad smile. "Thank you so much Santana. For everything."

"No problem," you reach up and give her arm a gentle squeeze. "I guess I'll see you later. I won't be here at lunch. I have to work on some admin stuff, but maybe we could have dinner?"

She nods. "Definitely. Why don't you come over after you get off and Summer and I will cook for you?"

"Awesome," you nod. "I'll see you then."

* * *

You weren't entirely sure how soon after work you were supposed to show up so you went home, showered, and changed before you drove over to their house. It always strikes you how cute their house is. It's bright and cheery even against the darkening sky.

Clouds crowd the sky above you, huddling together against the gusts of wind blowing them together. It's the kind of day that, had you still lived in Chicago, you'd go back to bed and watch the rain from the safety of the warm place under your blanket.

You walk quickly up the steps to the front door. You didn't want to come empty handed so you brought wine and cookies. Before you can knock on the door, it opens. Summer stands there with a little apron on. She smiles, "Hi."

"Hey," you smile back down at her. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Yeah," Summer states like it should be obvious. "Are those cookies for me?"

"Maybe," you smirk and walk past her into the house. You help her close the door and hand her the cookies. She runs off to the kitchen to tell her mom and you laugh at her. She's adorable.

You look around the living room and take off your jacket. You hesitate a little bit because it's a little chilly in the living room. You figure it's polite though and hang your coat on the rack next to the door.

The soft padding of bare feet on the hardwood floor captures your attention and you find Brittany standing in the middle of the living room. She's wearing black tights and a huge white shirt draped over a black cami. "Hey."

"Hey," you offer her the bottle of wine. You allow yourself a moment to take her in. With her hair slightly messed up and clothed in really casual clothes, she's so beautiful. You wonder why she doesn't have a string of guys following her around. The guys in this town must be idiots.

She looks over the bottle of wine. "You really didn't have to bring anything."

"My mom always told me it wasn't polite to show up empty handed," you run a hand up your left arm trying to subtly warm it.

Brittany, of course, catches on. "Sorry it's so cold in here. It's super hot in the kitchen with dinner and everything. I'll start a fire as soon as I get the chicken out of the oven."

"I'll start the fire," you glance at the fireplace that sits subtly in the corner. "Then maybe I can help in the kitchen?"

She shakes her head, "Nope. You can come watch, but no helping." The grin on her face warms you right up.

You start to reply, but you can hear the crinkling of the paper packaging that the cookies came in. Brittany turns around and marches back into the kitchen. "Summer, no cookies until after dinner."

They're really the cutest couple of people you've ever met.

Now that you're alone, you move over to the fireplace. There are already a few logs in the fireplace. You just throw in some old newspaper that is sitting next to the fireplace and light it with the lighter in your bag. After you're sure that the fire is going, you look around the living room. The last time you were here, Summer was dragging you around so you didn't get to see much.

The couch is placed across a corner of the room with the windows on one wall running tangentially off of it on one end and a solid wall off the other. It's facing the fireplace with a forty five degree viewing line to the TV a few feet down the wall. Off one side there's the hallway to Summer's room and the other way, you can see a dining room set up in a smaller section of the living room. The plates are already set, three places at the table. There are candles in the middle of the table that have yet to be lit.

This house is the picture perfect place for those two beautiful people that are making you dinner. You already feel at home in this house. You feel like you're suppose to be here and that you're welcome to stay as long as you like.

By the time you get into the kitchen dinner is done and both blondes shoo you out. Summer brings out a bowl of green beans while you light the first candle. She smiles at you and you shoot her a wink as you light the second candle. You haven't made sure that the wick had caught fire when Brittany walks in. She has a platter in her hand that is covered in a delicious looking chicken. She stops in the doorway, taking in the candles and you. You look at her through the flicker of the candle, wondering what she's thinking. Sometimes she just looks at you like... like she doesn't quite know what to do with you.

Finally, a soft smile graces her lips. She puts the chicken on the table and runs back into the kitchen to get the wine.

"It's raining," Summer states, looking out the window by the front door. You look over your shoulder and see her with her face pressed to the glass like she's never seen rain before.

"Come eat Summer," Brittany calls, drawing your attention back to the table. You find her pouring you some wine before pouring herself some.

Summer asks why she doesn't get a fancy glass like both of your wine glasses. Brittany rises from the table and returns with a wine glass of apple juice.

"This looks great," you cut into your chicken that you've been served. When you taste it, it's as good as it looks. You tell Brittany this and she blushes slightly, smiling at her plate.

Summer tells stories most of the dinner about school and kids in her class. She explains to you that she wants to join Girl Scouts because they go camping, but she's not old enough yet. You tell her that you've never been camping before and they both look at you like you're nuts. You explain that in Chicago, the closest to camping out that you did was sleeping in your living room one time with a sheet over your head.

Summer thinks that that is a riot and begs her mom to take you camping. Brittany turns to you and asks if you want to go camping. Your hesitation makes her laugh and she tells Summer that some people don't like camping.

After Summer finishes her food, she fake yawns and says that she's sleepy. This confuses you, but Brittany just silently watches her walk to the hallway that contains her bedroom. Once she's out of sight, Brittany clears her throat. "Do you want some more chicken?"

You politely decline, saying that you're stuffed. That's the best meal you've had in a while. You don't cook and the take-out in this town is seriously lacking.

You help her clear the table, both of your moving silently until the mess is gone. You don't want to leave, but you're not sure you should stay. The choice is made for you when Brittany pours you another glass of wine and asks if you want to sit on the couch. You take your wine with you and sit down on the couch. It's so comfortable, plush, and all around amazing. You sink back into the cushions and watch the fire.

She sits down on the couch too, half a cushion away. There seems to be something on her mind. You start to ask, but you see goosebumps on her skin. You grab the closest throw and place it around her shoulders. She smiles at you, her usual joyous smile not fully there.

You finally have to ask, "What's wrong?"

She takes a deep breath and a sip of wine. Her eyes stare right into the fire and only blink once while you watch her. "I - I'm..." she turns to you and when she sees your face something changes. Her eyes drop to the couch between you. "I'm just tired."

"Do you want me to leave so you can sleep?" you ask, taking in her tired eyes that are usually so filled with sunshine that you can't see anything else.

She smiles, "No. It's not that kind of tired. Just tired." She scoots a little closer to you with a growing smile, "Which is why when I told my mom that you invited me to Philadelphia, she told me that I have to go."

You do an internal jump for joy and a smile wide on the outside, "Awesome. Are you going to just hang out at the spa?"

Brittany nods, "My mom wants to know what flights you're taking out and the name of the hotel so she can book my stuff. I told her she was being really nice, but she said that she just wanted to take Summer for the weekend and spoil her rotten."

You chuckle. Her mom seems really awesome.

The chill in the room intensifies as the rain starts to fall harder. You look at the window watching the water beat against the ground and your car. You shift in your seat, trying to find some way to get warmer.

"I can share," Brittany seems to notice how cold you are and drapes half of the throw that you put on her, over your shoulders.

You move closer to her so that you can both use as much throw as possible. Her shoulder is touching yours and all of the sudden you're warm. "I hope you don't mind sharing a bed in Philadelphia. It's a king so I shouldn't kick you too much."

Brittany giggles as she takes a sip of her wine. Then she sets it on the floor. You follow suit and sit back on the couch. You don't think you've ever really been this comfortable with someone. And when she scoots closer to you, she accidentally leans back on you, her arm slipping past yours so that your arms are essentially linked.

She seems to want to move more into you, but is hesitant, even starting to move away as she mumbles "Sorry." You want her to be as comfortable as possible so you curl your arm around hers, keeping her where she is.

"It's okay," you whisper. You know she's tired and you know that she has her family to take care of her, but everything about her makes you want to take care of her too. You now that you won't get many chances to so you're taking this one.

"Thank you so much Santana," she adds with a deep sigh.

You press yourself back into the couch. "It's no problem. You've been so great to me since I moved here." You don't tell her that you feel like she's your first real, genuine friend that you've had in years.

You see movement out of the corner of your eye and turn your head to fully capture Summer peeking out of the hallway in your view. She giggles quietly and smiles at you. You give her a little wave. She waves back and disappears.

"Summer really likes you," Brittany mentions and sits up a little straighter.

That make you smile. "I've never really been a kid person, but Summer's... really awesome." You look at Brittany's face and her eyes meet yours, "I'm sure she has that effect on everyone."

"She does," Brittany smiles proudly.

You spend another half an hour on the couch with Brittany before you decide to leave. She looks exhausted and you want to let her sleep. She offers to let you stay since it's pouring outside, but you decline, wanting her to relax since Summer went to sleep. You don't want her to fuss over you so you hug her and leave.


	4. Chapter 4: Para Olivia by Tao Ruspoli

The closer your get to the weekend, the more excited you get. A Friday off and a weekend away with your new best friend sounds perfect to you. Especially a weekend away in a large city. You miss cities.

You had fun watching Summer on Tuesday after school. You picked her up and took her back to her house where you ate popcorn and watched movies until Brittany got home. It was really way easier than you thought it would be. Summer is a very low maintenance child. She's also a very nosey one, asking you many questions about your personal life. You just chalked it up to a curious mind and answered her questions as honestly as you could.

Brittany's mom dropped by halfway into Finding Nemo to drop off a hammer that she borrowed from Brittany, but you feel like she was more checking up on you than returning the tool. She was really nice though and you talked to her for about twenty minutes about medicine and your family and work until you figure she decided to like you enough to leave you alone with her grandchild.

When you tell Brittany about her mom stopping by, she rolls her eyes and apologizes. You stay long enough for Brittany to show you what she bought and have a cup of hot tea on the front porch bench. Brittany leans into you like she did that one night in front of the fire and you can't help, but move in any way you can to accommodate that. As she talked about shopping with her friend, Sugar, who she met in college, a man walked by with his dog. He was an older overweight man who you're sure is a steak away from a heart attack.

However as he walks by with his small dog, he looks up at you and Brittany. When he finds you both on the porch, he scowls and Brittany sits up and looks away, not touching you. You scowl back at the man, probably harder than he did.

Even after he's gone, Brittany won't lean on you again and she's grown quiet. You don't know what happened, but you don't like it. Finally she excuses herself to go inside and check on Summer and you sense that she's ready for you to leave so you say goodbye, missing the hug that you're so used to getting from her when you leave.

Finally, after a week of sick kids, Friday morning arrived. You both decided that you'll pick Brittany up from her house after she drops Summer off at school. When you pull up to her house, the door opens and Brittany walks out with her bag over her shoulder.

You don't even have to get out of the car because she locks the door and walks out to the car with a huge smile. Once she's settled in the passenger's seat, you take off. She seems really excited.

She's a little nervous on the plane ride out of the Lima and looks awestruck as you walk about the Cleveland airport for your connection flight. "Nervous?" you ask as you take your seat on the huge plane to Philadelphia.

"A little," she takes a deep breath. "I've only ever flown to Arizona for my cousin's wedding. I was ten."

You think about that for a moment. Your parents haven't always been the best parents, but they took you all over the world with them. You used to think that every summer, everyone's family got on a plane and flew out of the country.

You look over at the nervous girl in the seat next to you and take her hand. Your fingers lace through hers on their own, but she doesn't move to stop it. She holds tight to your hand as the pilot announces that it's almost time to take off.

Once you're in the air, she relaxes a little bit. You gave her the window seat so that she could see whatever she wanted. You hate to have to work, but you do have to. You have some things to take care of so you pull out your laptop and start working, leaving Brittany to enjoy the view and listen to the music on her MP3 player.

When you're told to put your laptop up, Brittany takes your hand, her fingers between yours. You smile over at her and she nervously smiles back. Landing is smooth, but Brittany is ready to get off of the plane so you hop out of your seat and let her out so you're among the first to get off.

You grab a cab to your hotel and easily check in. You can already see all the people you're supposed to be meeting with milling around the ballroom. You have to go up to your room and change before you go to the conference.

As soon as you get to the room, you toss your bag on the singular bed in the room and open your bag to pull out your 'meeting people' clothes. Brittany walks to the window and looks out as she calls her mom to tell her that you both made it okay.

You change and tell Brittany to have fun at the spa. You're going to skip the luncheon so that you can take Brittany to a restaurant that you remember loving when you came here for a week in high school with your parents to, ironically, a medical conference.

You wait until Brittany gets off of the phone before you go to the conference. You've been sitting on the edge of the bed with your laptop open, checking your emails from the higher ups at the school district asking if you need anything. It's funny because most of the teachers don't like you, but the admins will do anything you want them to.

"Thank you for letting me come," Brittany turns to you from the window.

You look up from the screen. "I would have drug you here and forced you to relax if I had to."

She chuckles and walks over to you on the bed. She sits next to you.

You look over at her and ask, "What are you going to do today?"

"Um," Brittany pulls her phone out of her pocket and scans through something. "I have a massage at ten and then lunch with you."

You nod. "I'm jealous." You bump your shoulder with hers. "I don't have to go to the last lecture tonight because it's for nurses so I'll be done by three after lunch. Text me or something if you're going to take a nap or something so I can find something else to do."

"I don't think I'll be taking a nap," she smiles, "But thanks."

You sigh and stand. "I guess I'm going to this thing now. Ugh."

She stands with you and puts her hand on your shoulders giving you a small massage as you walk toward the door. "You can do it Dr. Lopez."

You stop at the door and she drops her arms. "I'll see you afterwards."

"Call me when you get out of the conference so I can get ready," Brittany leans on the wall next to the door. "I'll probably be just laying on the bed in a bathrobe after my massage."

That mental image of that makes you blush a little. Which is ridiculous. You're a doctor for god's sake. Naked bodies shouldn't make you do things like that. Especially the mental image of your bath robed best friend. You shake the image away and smile, "Have a nice massage."

"I will," she gives you a small wave as you turn around and leave.

The conference is not as bad as it could be. You meet some new people, mostly nurses and administrative type people. Your district is trying a new thing, having a doctor for the district instead of one nurse per school. It's really experimental and the people at the conference think it's fascinating.

You call Brittany on your way out of the ballroom. She tells you that she's going to change and she'll be ready when you get up to the room. As you ride up the elevator you take off the tailored blazer you were wearing. You hate dressing up. You miss your scrubs.

When you get to your room, you slide the key into the electronic lock and open the door. Brittany is laying on the bed, watching TV. She gets up when you walk in. You toss your jacket onto the bed and fall forward onto the bed with a groan. You hear a giggle and feel her hand rubbing your back. "That bad?"

"It's probably not. I've just explained how out school system works like fifty times," you turn your head to look at her. Her eyes are understanding and you feel like you could talk to her forever. However, you have to get back here after lunch so you need to leave soon. You push up off of the bed. "Alright, let's go so I can get back on time and you don't miss anything at the spa."

You walk to the restaurant and once you're seated you take a long drink of water. "How was your massage?"

"It was great," Brittany runs her finger over the table. "I feel great."

"Awesome," you lean back in your chair and run a hand through your hair.

"I usually don't have a lot of down time to think or whatever," Brittany licks her lips. "But I did have a lot of time to think after my massage while I was waiting for you." She takes a deep breath like she's about to say something important, but is interrupted by the server.

You quickly order because you want to know what she's about to say. When she orders, the server leaves, and you stay quiet waiting for her to finish.

Brittany takes a drink and looks over at you. "You haven't asked where Summer's dad is."

You have been wondering, but you've never asked. "It's none of my business."

She chuckles, "It's obvious you're not from Lima. Everyone likes to be in each other's business."

You nod to her. You're starting to understand that about the small town.

"Anyway," she takes a deep breath. "I don't know where Summer's dad is. In high school...I... It was a hard time for me." She looks nervous as she tells you this and you want to reach over and take her hand. You're about to when she start wringing her hand together. She smiles wistfully and looks up at you. "I fell in love." This makes you smile. The way her eyes light up make you so happy for her and the lucky guy.

Her eyes fall again and she takes a deep breath, looking shyly at you through your eyelashes. "I fell in love with a cheerleader. She was beautiful and smart. She was one of my best friends." Okay, not lucky guy. Lucky girl. You can't say you're really all that surprised. Brittany seems like the kind of person that could fall in love with anyone without being confined by gender. She's so quick to be kind.

You don't think you need to say anything. You don't really have anything to say at this point. You're just taking it all in. This side of Brittany that is so guarded that you feel privileged to see.

"But, at the time, and sometimes now, Lima isn't friendly to that kind of love," Brittany explains. "Somehow people around town started to find out. The kids in high school were so mean. I - I freaked out." The way her voice shakes unnerves you. You don't understand the way that must have felt. You want to wrap Brittany in your arms and tell her it'll all be okay.

She steadiest herself and continues, "So I slept with the first football player who approached me, trying to make me normal. I got pregnant my last semester of high school. Summer was probably the best thing that ever happen to me and I'd never take any of it back." She bites her lip. "I just... feel like I should tell you that most people in Lima are great. They're good people. But some people aren't so nice and most of the mean people still see me as that girl who fell in love with a cheerleader. Some people won't let their kids be in my class. Some people give me dirty looks when I'm at the store, but for the most part people in Lima are great."

"You can't help who you love," you tell her softly. You had a realization while she was speaking and have to ask, "That night when we were sitting on your front porch and that guy looked at us and you moved away from me?"

"Sometimes it's not a good thing to be associated with me in Lima," Brittany swallows and looks at you, "Especially if you're a girl."

"I can't think of anyone in Lima I'd rather be associated with," you smile across the table to her.

She seems relieved and thanks you for understanding. "You're a really great friend Santana. I don't want that to change."

You shake your head. "It won't. You love who you love and it's all beautiful."

The food arrives and you have a nice lunch after that. It's light and fun and you feel like you're closer to Brittany than ever. She trusts you with her secrets and you love that. It proves to you that you're not that only one that thinks this friendship is strong.

After lunch you head back to the conference and Brittany goes back to the spa. The conference isn't as bad as it could be, but you're very aware of how much time is creeping by. You manage to sneak out at two forty-five. You're pretty sure Brittany is still in the spa so you decide to head up to the room for a little nap.

When you get into the room though, you find that you're not alone. You can hear Brittany in the shower. She's singing and since the door is slightly open, you can hear her clearly. She's actually a really good singer. You decide to continue your covert concert and listen while you change clothes. You take off your nice shirt and your pants before pulling out the jeans you're going to wear. You keep looking for the shirt you want.

When the singing stops abruptly, you look up and see Brittany standing outside the bathroom door in a towel. She looks at you, her mouth slightly open.

You find yourself similarly awestruck. The tops of her long, lean legs are barely hidden under the small towel and the towel is hanging low enough to get a hint of cleavage. You quickly look away and pull your shirt on. "Sorry, I didn't hear you get out of the towel - shower."

She laughs at you and you feel a little better about seeing her almost naked. "So, what do you want to do? Are you heading back to the spa?"

"If they exfoliate me anymore, I won't have any skin left," Brittany chuckles. "I was hoping that you could show me around."

"I've only been here a few times, but I'll do my best," you tell her as you pull on your jeans. You've looked up now from your bag and see that she managed to get a bra and panties on while you were getting your jeans on. Of course this view is all that much more alluring because her stomach is so toned. Her whole body is something amazing to behold and you have to rip your eyes away from her.

When you're both ready, you grab your coats and leave. You decide to walk. Your hotel is in the midst of many great things to do in Philly so you decide to just wander around until you found a restaurant that looks good.

It's cold and you link your arm with Brittany's. You don't know if you're trying to assure her that nothing's weird between you or you're trying to assure yourself, but her smile makes you happy so it doesn't even matter.

You walk past to many landmarks and Brittany stops a few times to read about them. Then she stops to call Summer after she got out of school. Summer insists on saying hi to you and you laugh as she tells you about school. Then you give the phone back to her mom who tells her that she loves her.

After Brittany hangs up, you go into some museums and look around. You duck into a Spanish restaurant and nab a little table in the back. Brittany's telling you about her fun times in high school and some of her hijinks as a cheerleader. Then you tell her about your time on your high school's volleyball team.

You tell her about your string of uninteresting boyfriends which she counters with one girlfriend of a month and a half and then a dry spell spanning over Summer's entire life.

"That is sad," you quirk your eyebrow. "You're so sweet and hot and smart. The women of Lima are totally missing out."

She laughs and shakes her head. "I don't need to date. I'm fine how my life is right now. I have a great family and great friends." She gestures to you.

"What about sex?" you ask before you register that you did it. You would have asked it to everyone else, but you feel that Brittany is... sweet and innocent. Even though she may not be.

She doesn't skip a beat answering with her wine glass in her hand. "I take good care of myself."

Your eyes widen a bit and if you had been drinking it would have come flying out of your mouth. She laughs at your reaction. You're a doctor. You shouldn't be having these reactions, but it's... Brittany.

After dinner, you walk along the darkened street for a while just enjoying the city and laughing together. When you get back to the room, Brittany starts to call Summer. You ask if her parents have a computer with a web cam and offer her use of your computer. You get in the shower after she gets on your laptop.

The hot water feels so good on your back so you stretch your arms over your head and take a deep breath. This shower feels amazing. You can't really think what would make this weekend better.

You think about what Brittany told you and what she went through in high school. It infuriates you that someone did that to her. That someone was mean to her because of her sexuality. You want to find them now and kick all their asses. Those fuckers. The more you think about it, the madder you get. You want to protect her from things like that, from people like that.

You're fuming when you get out of the shower and pull on your pajama shorts and tank top. You walk out of the bathroom and find that Brittany is done with your computer and it's pushed to the side. She's laying down, her head on a pillow and her body under the blankets. The lights are off and the lamps are on.

"What's wrong?" she asks, sitting up.

You don't ask her how she knows that something is wrong, you pull the towel off of your hair and toss it toward the bathroom. "I was thinking in the shower about those assholes that were mean to you in high school. And that old fuck that looked at us when we were sitting on your front porch. It was your house. You can do whatever you want in your house. Or on your front porch. I'm gonna track him down and -"

"Santana," she softly interrupts you. You take a deep breath and put your hands on your hips. She pushes up on her knees and shuffles over to you. Her hands rest lightly on your hips. "It's so sweet of you to be pissed for me. But you being pissed off right here, right now isn't going to help anything okay?"

You realize that she's right, but you cross your arms trying to maintain your anger. It's an easy emotion for you. "But they-" You sigh as her blue eyes bore into you, erasing the anger. You huff. "I just...I'm sorry that you had to go through that. It's not right."

"It's not right," Brittany shakes her head, "But it's getting better. There's a GSA and even a Glee club at the high school now."

You keep to yourself that you think Glee is for losers, but you have to ask, "What's a GSA?"

"Gay Straight Alliance," she smiles at you. "I'm guessing you didn't have one of those at your high school."

You shake your head. "I guess not."

"Things are changing," she cups your cheek.

You feel her words and know it's true. You just... "I don't like that they hurt you in any way."

"I got something great out of it," Brittany pulls you into a hug.

You hold her around her back and let your head drop on her shoulder. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she whispers to you. "Now let's go to bed."

You nod against her shoulder and pull away from her so that you can get into the bed. When the lamps go off you lay down in the bed and burrow under the covers. You feel the need to apologize again so you do.

She doesn't answer immediately. Her body moves toward yours and her arms snake around your torso, pulling you to her. Your arms find their natural place around her neck. "Don't be sorry. I love you so much for wanting to protect me. I definitely could have used a friend like you in high school. But I have you now okay? And when we get back to Lima, we'll help the kids there that need the support."

You don't let go of her. You still want to protect her. Maybe just protect her against the cold tonight. But the world is a cruel place and Brittany doesn't belong in it. She needs some utopia where everyone loves her and her daughter and no one has a cross word to say.

"Are you okay?" She asks a few minutes later after you've just been laying in the dark, holding each other.

You decide to finally pull away. You don't want to creep her out although you feel like you could hold her for the rest of your life. "I'm fine. I used to just think the world sucked because I generally don't like people, but I just... you're..." You roll onto your back. "It really does suck."

"It doesn't all suck," Brittany takes your hand and just holds it between you. "There are good people in this world. Like you."

You find that hard to believe. You've always been the bitch. Probably the bane of many people's existences. You were ruthless in college and med school. You always kept your distance from people, which many people interpret as you being a snobby bitch. You wouldn't put yourself in the category of bad people, but you certainly don't feel like one of the good guys.

"You're a good person Santana," Brittany burrows into her pillow. "I know it. Someday you'll know it. Get some sleep. You have a long day tomorrow."

You groan at the mention of the day you'll have. Brittany giggles and squeezes your hand. She doesn't let go and you don't mind. You actually kind of like it.


	5. Chapter 5: Stay by Sara Bareilles

The conference is only mildly dull. Some things you learn are interesting and somewhat relevant. But you find yourself constantly checking your watch. You want to get out of here and hang out with Brittany.

Five o'clock can't come soon enough. You want to run up the stairs, but not in these shoes. So you patiently stand in the elevator planning on which order you're going to take these horridly confining clothes off in.

When you get to the room, Brittany's sitting on the bed, your computer in her lap. She smiles up at you and turns the computer around. You see Summer looking at you from the screen and smile with a wave, "Hey Summer."

"Hi Santana!" she waves with both hands. "You look so dressed up."

You shrug off your jacket, "I know. Isn't it terrible?"

She laughs, "You look nice."

"Thanks," you kick off your shoes, "How's your weekend with your grandma?"

"Awesome!" Summer's eyes get wide, "We had s'mores for breakfast!"

You laugh while Brittany gives you a disapproving look over the top of the screen. You wave at Summer again. "I'm gonna go change."

She says goodbye and then Brittany asks Summer to put her grandma on. As you step into the bathroom you hear Brittany ask why Summer had s'mores for breakfast.

In the bathroom, you shed your clothes. You love to be comfortable and your dress suits are definitely not. Once your jeans are on and your shirt is straightened out, you exit the bathroom. Brittany's still talking to Summer so you fall onto the bed, face down. You could definitely use a nap.

You can hear Summer telling Brittany the plot to a movie that she watched the night before. You can feel fingers thread through your hair and gently massage your scalp. It feels really great and you sigh contently.

"We're gonna go see a movie, Mommy," you hear Summer say.

"Okay sweetheart," Brittany says back to the screen. "Have fun. I love you."

"I love you too," Summer echoes. "Tell Santana I love her too."

You hears yourself say, "Aww," and call to the screen, "I love you too Summer."

You can hear her giggle and say goodbye to her mom. Then your computer clicks closed. You feel Brittany move away from you and then move back. "Do you need to take a nap?"

You push up on your elbows and look up at her, "Nah. What do you want to do?"

Brittany shrugs and moves her hand back to your head. Her long fingers brush against the side of your scalp to brush the hair away from your face. "If you're tired, I want to order in and go to sleep early."

You shake your head. "It's your weekend away. What kind of friend would I be if I kept you in the room and fell asleep before the fun starts?"

"What fun?" Brittany asks, her eyes resting softly on you.

"Some nurses from Indianapolis were talking about heading down the street to go dancing," you offer. "A little birdie told me that you like to dance."

Brittany smiles wide and you know you did something right. So you get up to get ready. You'll have to get rid of your jeans and t-shirt, but if it makes Brittany happy, you can handle a tight dress all night.

When you're both done, you text the nurses that invited you out in the first place. They seem really excited that you're coming and say they'll meet you and Brittany in the lobby.

After quick introductions, your small band of medical professionals and Brittany make your way to a club. You open a tab and tell the bartender that Brittany's with you. She gives you a disapproving look, but you pretend not to see it.

The nurses are really funny and you and Brittany are rolling. Then one of the guys suggests that you all hit the dance floor after a few drinks. You try to stay at the table, but Brittany pulls you up, not giving you the option.

Watching her dance in incredible. The way she moves is so sexy and smooth. Her cobalt blue dress clings to her and moves with her. A guy asks her to dance, but she shakes her head obviously having fun by herself. You do the same when asked to dance. You just want to shuffle around and watch Brittany.

You can see another guy walking toward her, intent on dancing with her so you scoot closer to her and take her hand, shooting him a glare over her shoulder. She looks questioningly at you and you have to speak loudly into her ear to explain, "Sketchy guy was about to ask you to dance."

She grins at you, "Thanks. Why aren't you dancing with a guy?"

"It's a friend weekend," you lean forward, this time the front of your bodies are pressed together when you say, "If I'm gonna dance with anyone, it's gonna be you."

Her head turns and her lips brush against your ear, "Then dance with me." Her voice is low, but loud enough for you to hear. You may be a little drunk, but your knees go weak.

And just like that you're back again. You smile at her, challenging her. You love the challenge. It's obvious that she's not nervous or scared. She's playing with you and you're going to play right back. You turn around and press your back up against her front.

Her hands easily find their way to your hips as you both sway with the music. Your arms go into the air as she moves her hip in time with yours. There's something undeniably sexy about this. The way her hands know exactly where to curve to hold you.

Her head dips down and she asks, "Is this too much?"

There was definitely a line and you're sure it's been crossed. You may have cared two drinks ago, but you're letting go with your best friend. You shake your head in response to her. It may be too much, but don't want to acknowledge it.

You continue to dance closer to Brittany than you have ever danced with anyone, included all the guys you've dated. You find everything about how Brittany dances extremely sexy. You're allowing yourself to be lead through all the music. Even as you sober up and begin to realize that some of the things you are feeling, you shouldn't be feeling for your best friend, you won't stop. Not only is this all kinds of sexy, this is fun. You haven't had fun like this since high school.

You have no idea how long you've been dancing, but one of the nurses that you came with taps you on the shoulder. They're going to get food and ask if you want to go. You defer to Brittany, only now realizing how completely exhausted you are.

She eagerly nods and takes your hand, pulling you out of the crowd and toward the bar. You close out your tab and meet everyone else outside.

You all walk to a dinner down the street and sit in the booth. You order for both you and Brittany confident that you know your best friend enough by now to order for her. You order a hamburger, fries, and a milkshake to share. When she smiles at you and bumps your shoulder, you know you did the right thing.

The discussion becomes an exchange of medical horror stories and funny things stuck in peoples' orifices. You have plenty of horror stories coming out of an internship that featured an extremely busy ER just a few miles from a college campus.

Everyone has a great time, laughing and getting to know each other. They're all really good people and you're enjoying getting to know them.

"You two are a really cute couple," one of the girls says to you and Brittany. "Where did you meet?"

"We both work at the school," Brittany smiles at the group, taking over when you were at a loss.

You just smile and nod, content in letting these strangers believe that you and Brittany are a couple.

When you walk back to the hotel, you let a couple of the guys talk you and Brittany into having a few more drinks at the hotel bar. After two more than what you promised, you say goodbye to the group. Then you and Brittany quietly make your way up to your room. She unlocks the door with her key card and holds the door open for you.

You're too tired to change so you just fall into bed glancing at that clock. It's almost two a.m. and if you weren't exhausted before you are seconds from passing out.

"Hey, Santana," you feel Brittany nudge your shoulder. You roll onto your back and see her with a water bottle. She unscrews the cap and hands it to you. You take a long drink of it knowing in agonizing detail exactly how that alcohol will affect your body if not counteracted by water.

You hand it back to her and she finishes it off while you collapse on the bed. You feel the bed move next to you, but can't bring yourself to move.

"You need to change," Brittany plays with your hair and it only pushes you faster toward sleep.

You just groan in a response.

She laughs, "At least take off your dress."

You groan again, this time reaching for the zipper and stopping halfway when it got too hard to try.

"I'll do it for you," she finally says after you just lay there, not even pretending to try anymore.

You feel your dress loosen as it's unzipped down your side. Then you feel it being tugged down your body before you're free of it. You wiggle a little to adjust your bra and sigh contently. You feel a blanket settle over you and then the lights go off. Brittany lays down next to you and becomes still.

Just before you slip off to sleep, Brittany whispers, "Thank you for tonight Santana. I had a lot of fun."

You smile and feel around the bed until you take her hand. "Any time," you mumble and hold her hand as you let go and fall into sleep.

"Santana," a voice sings to you, slowly pulling you out of sleep.

You groan and are scared to move in case the water you drank last night wasn't enough to counteract the alcohol. You pull the blanket over your head and groan again.

Brittany laughs and rubs your back through the blanket. "I ordered coffee and breakfast. You've already missed your first lecture."

You sigh and let the covers fall from your face. You look around as Brittany hands you exactly what you're looking for. "Thanks." You take a sip of your coffee and rub your eyes. "I have to pack too."

"I can do that for you if you want," Brittany offers, taking a bite of a bagel.

You think it over. "I'll throw my stuff into my bag. If you can, just make sure I didn't forget anything."

She nods, "No problem."

You look at the clock and see that you have an hour before the start of your next lecture because they're in the middle of the first one you're missing. You stack some pillows and lean back on them. Brittany's laying on her stomach, her head at the opposite end of the bed from yours, reading something on your computer.

You pick up the TV remote and turn on the TV. You flip channels for a little bit until you find a rerun of Friends. You drop the remote on the bed and pick up a bagel off of the plate next to Brittany's.

"I love this show," Brittany mentions, glancing at you before quickly looking away.

You look down and see that you're still only wearing a bra and panties. Brittany seems to have at least made it into a tank top. You dust some crumbs off of your right boob and take a sip of your coffee. "Shall I put a shirt on?"

Brittany drops her head for a moment before turning to look at you. "You don't have to.. It's just..."

"Magnificent right?" you ask with a devilish grin.

Brittany's head falls completely on the bed and you can see her ears turning red. You have a nice chuckle and then get out of the bed. You set your coffee down on the nightstand and grab a t-shirt out of the first bag you see. After you pull it on, you get back into bed and Brittany lifts her head again.

There's a deep affection in her smile when she sees you wearing one of her shirt. You look down at it and see that it says McKinley Cheerios. "Your high school had it's own cereal?"

She laughs. "No. That's what the cheerleaders were called."

You look down at the shirt and nod. "Cool."

She turns back to the computer and you look back at the TV. You take another bite of your bagel and drop it on the plate on the nightstand by Brittany. As you sip your coffee and watch Friends, you find yourself with your hand on Brittany's calf. You don't know why you always want to touch her, but as you slowly rub and down her calf, you find a contentment in it. Brittany doesn't seem to mind so you keep doing it until the episode is over.

"I guess I have to get ready," you sigh. You finish your coffee off and set the mug down. "Do you mind if I wear this shirt?"

Brittany shakes her head. "Go ahead."

"I'm not dressing up. They can't make me," you grab some jeans and pull them on. You brush your hair out and find that it still looks descent do you look at yourself in the mirror. A little mascara and then you're good to go.

You also still have time to watch another half an episode of Friends so you flop onto the bed and lay out with your hands behind your head. Brittany looks over at you, seemingly just to check on you. You give her a smile and a wink. Her cheeks turn a little pink, but she manages to hold your eyes and smile back.

"Thanks for coming with me Brittany," you tell her, in an unusual bout of gratitude and honesty. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

"Me either," she smiles a different smile this time. One that's a little shy and you find it adorable. "Thank you for bringing me."

Right after the end of the conference, you run back up to the room and to pack, but find that Brittany's already done that for you. She has both of your bags next to the door and you grab them both so you can leave.

On the flight home, you're sure that you both slept the whole way and you feel rested when you land. You throw the bags in your car and get in to drive Brittany home.

"Can we go by my parents' house to pick up Summer?" Brittany asks.

You nod. "Of course." You wait for directions and drive you both only a few streets away from Brittany's house. It's a nice house made of red bricks and surrounded by huge trees. It looks nice in the twilight.

Just as you put the car into park you see the front door open. Summer runs out of the house and as soon as Brittany gets out, she jumps into her mom's arms. You can't help, but find them the cutest mommy/daughter pair ever.

Before you know it though, Summer is pulling you out of the car to give you a hug and question you about your weekend.

"What did you do?" she asks as you find yourself being pulled toward her grandparents' house with Brittany behind you.

"I went to a conference," you tell her, a little hesitant to go inside.

"What did you do after?" Summer keeps pulling you and Brittany holds the door open for you. She gives you a reassuring smile.

Inside, its less modern than Brittany's house but still as homey. You see Brittany's mom walking out of a hallway with Summer's bag. "Hey Santana," she smiles warmly, "How are you?"

"I'm great," you smile back at her as Summer lets go of you to take her bag from her grandma.

"Can we take Santana to get pizza?" Summer turns right to her mom and asks.

Brittany's eyes shoot to you and then back to Summer, "If she wants to go, but it's been a long weekend."

You catch Brittany's eyes and shrug indicating that she doesn't have to take you if she's too tired. She grins back at you and tells Summer to go get in the car so you all can go to dinner. Then she invites her parents who accept and soon you're driving Summer and Brittany to their pizza place with Brittany's parents following.

Rachel is playing hostess against and grins widely this time when you all walk in. "Brittany! and Santana!" She looks around, "And the family! What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Brittany shrugs, and you can see her shift around nervously.

Her dad puts his hand on her shoulder, "There's always an occasion." He tells Rachel, "The girls just got back from Philadelphia."

"Oh and how was that?" Rachel asks Summer.

Summer scrunches up her nose, "I didn't go. Mommy and Santana did."

Rachel's eyes get wide and a sly smile forms on her lips. She looks at Brittany and raises an eyebrow, "Was this a business trip?"

You can see that Brittany's uncomfortable and you don't like it so you step in, "It was for me. Brittany just went to relax."

However your defense of Brittany, instead of getting Rachel to cower in fear, made Rachel smile all that much wider. She does stop asking questions and shows you to your table with quiet a lot more showmanship than she did last time.

"If you need anything," Rachel smiles particularly at Brittany, "I'll be right over there." She points to her hostess station, which you note had a direct view of your table.

Mike seems to have been bitten by the same bug as Rachel because in between his rounds of serving food and drinks, you catch him watching the table. Occasionally Mike will go to the hostess station and they'll try and fail to subtly watch you together.

"How well do you know them?" you whisper to Brittany while her parents are distracted with Summer.

Brittany's eyes shoot to Rachel who looks away immediately and then Mike who does the same. She looks back down at her salad. "We went to high school together. They're close friends."

"Then why do they keep staring at me like I'm a puppy that's cuddling with a kitten?" you ask. You're getting more than a little freaked out by their dopey smiles.

Brittany picks up her napkin from her lap and places it on the table. "I'll be right back."

"You don't have to-" you start, a little worried at the array of emotions crossing her face.

She gives you a smile. "Don't worry. I'm not mad. I just need to talk to Rachel real quick."

You sit back in your seat and watch her cross the dining room to Rachel. The shorter girl looks up and smiles before Brittany starts talking. Her eyes flicker to you and then back at Brittany. Then she seems to ask something which Brittany shakes her head to which makes Rachel confused. Then Rachel rests her hand on Brittany's forearm and pulls her into a hug. Rachel's look over Brittany's shoulder is almost sad.

Rachel takes a step back and fixes Brittany's hair with a few sweeps of her fingers. Then she looks down and asks a questions that makes Brittany entirely still. Not a muscle moves on her body for a while ten seconds before she nods. Rachel smiles sadly up at Brittany and gives her another hug. Then she pulls away and smiles. Brittany nods again before returning to the table.

"Are you okay?" you ask, softly.

Brittany nods, looking directly into her salad as she spears a crouton with her fork, "We just made plans to hang out next weekend."

"Oh," you nod slowly. You were kinda hoping that you could take her and Summer somewhere next weekend, but she has other friends. Of which you have exactly zero.

"So Santana, where did you go to med school?" Brittany's mom asks, effectively ending that conversation.

After dinner, the Pierces pay although you offer. When you get into your car with Brittany and Summer, they're both really quiet.

You really hate this. It's eating you up inside that Brittany isn't talking. She usually has a suggestion about some place for you to try or a warning about what to stay away from. She hasn't said a word since you got into the car. Summer doesn't worry you as much, seeing as how her eyes are drooping in the backseat anyway.

At a red light you finally sigh, "I'm sorry if I offended you or your friends."

There's a pause before Brittany speaks, "It's not that. I'm sorry, they just - we don't see a lot of new people around here. Especially ones like you."

"Like me?" you ask, and turn to her, "Like Hispanic?"

She chuckles, "No not that. Like beautiful and smart and from a big city. Especially someone like that who chooses to stay here."

"Oh," you turn your head forward just as the light turns green.

When you get to Brittany's house, you pop the trunk and get her bag while she gets Summer out of the backseat. You don't even have to think about it when Brittany hands you her keys. You unlock the front door and open it for her then follow her inside with her bag.

You kinda linger in the living room while she puts Summer to bed. You put your hands in your back pockets and look around at the living room that you find so cozy. It's a little cold so you look around for a heater of some kind. When you don't see any, you throw some logs from the stack next to the fireplace, into it, and start it. You can't have Brittany and Summer freezing to death. Then you resume your previous position with your hands in your pockets.

Brittany walks back into the living room and smiles at you. "Thank you so much for this weekend."

"It wouldn't have been fun without you," you smile back.

She pulls you into a hug, her arms wrapped around your waist and your arms around her neck. Again she lingers, and again you don't mind at all. You even tighten the hug and close your eyes, just knowing that what you have with Brittany is something special. If the jerks in Lima won't appreciate her for the amazing person she is, you'll do it enough for the whole town.

She slowly starts to pull away so you pull the rest of the way back. You give her one last smile, "I guess I'll head home."

She licks her lips and walks you to the door. "Goodnight Santana."

"Goodnight Britt," you back away. You have trouble breaking eye contact with her, but finally do because you're about to fall off of the porch. When you get to your car, you open the door and finally give into the urge to look back. She's still watching you. You shyly duck your head and get into the car. You don't know what it is, but she makes you nervous and giddy all at once.

When you get home though, you realize that you miss her so much more than you should. You throw your clothes into the washer and lay on your bed, staring at the wall. Your phone is right next to you and you run your fingers over it, wanting to call Brittany or text her or better yet you wish your phone would bring Brittany to you.

Two night of sharing a bed and sharing a room, and sharing your body on the dance floor with Brittany have made you become hopelessly attached to her. The way she moves is so graceful it's almost euphoric just to watch. When she smiles and her nose wrinkles right at the top is so cute. The way she loves to help people. She's just everything you could ever ask for in a friend.


	6. Chapter 6: Philadelphia by Parachute

You're sitting in the infirmary for the elementary school, filling out some paperwork for a broken arm on the playground when there's a light knock on the door. You swivel around in your chair and find Summer standing there, a paper bag in her hand.

You check your watch and ask her, "Shouldn't you be at lunch?"

She smiles, flashing her little dimples. "It's recess time, but I brought you a brownie. Me and Mommy made them last night." She hands you the bag and rocks back on her heels. "Did you eat lunch?"

You shake your head and glance in the bag. That brownie looks so delicious. "Not yet."

"Mommy says dessert is for after lunch," Summer quirks her eyebrow in a challenge.

You chuckle at her. She's got the same eyebrow arch as her mom. "I'll eat lunch first."

"Promise?" Summer raises her other eyebrow.

"Promise," you nod.

Summer nods in acceptance. She turns around to walk away, but seems to change her mind, spinning back around. She walks briskly over to you, stands on her toes, and gives you a hug. "You're my favorite."

"Your favorite what?" you asks, accepting the hug. You can't help, but smile.

Summer sets herself back on her heels and makes a face like she's trying to think of something that's eluding her. "I don't know yet."

You chuckle, "Well you're my favorite I don't know either."

She laughs at you and her blonde hair shakes with her snickers. "I'm gonna go play now."

You wave at her and watch her run off.

You look out the window that you rarely use and watch Summer run out of the school and onto the playground. She starts talking to a group of little kids before they apparently decide what to play and run around like little maniacs.

Then you look at the paper bag of brownie deliciousness. You pick it up and look inside, taking a moment to smell it. It smells so good. You just want to pick it up and… you can't you promised. So you stand from your chair and grab your purse. You pick up the paper bag and walk out the door in search of lunch.

Your week is ridiculously boring, but you do manage to drag Brittany and Summer to a movie and then for ice cream once. There's not a while lot to do in this town, but you plan to research the hell out of what to do here this weekend, when Brittany's off having fun with her other friends. Because you only have one friend. You roll your eyes at yourself. She's better than one friend. She's a million friends.

So when Monday comes you have a plan. You're going to take Brittany and Summer to the university planetarium the next chance you get. You even make sure that they'll be open all week and weekend. You spend a pathetic weekend watching movies and laying in bed, wishing you'd taken a job in Chicago instead of this job to spite your parents. Then you remember that you never would have met the Pierces in Chicago. That makes this whole thing worth it.

On Monday, just like always, you're late taking a lunch which means no lunch with Brittany who is on a strict schedule governed by the school board and little kids. You tap your pen on your desk. You bet the vending machine in the teacher's lounge still has a Pop Tart or two in it.

There's a knock on the door and you turn to it. You're extremely surprised to see Rachel from the restaurant, standing in the doorway. She smiles at you, probably at your confusion, "Dr. Lopez?"

You nod. "How can I help you?"

"Well," she leans on the doorframe, "I came to surprise Brittany and take her to lunch, but I just missed her. So I thought I'd see if you wanted to go. You know, get to know that Dr. Santana that I keep hearing so much about."

You look her over. She looks harmless. She looks like you could fit her in your pocket. And you've been thinking about trying to make new friends. "Sure."

She beams at you, "Fantastic."

Since she's Brittany's friend you decide to trust her enough to drive. Her little blue car is parked right next to yours so you grab your bag out of your car before getting into hers. She listens to the radio, humming along as she makes her way to, what she claims, is the best soup and salad bar in town.

At the deli, she orders and you both pay for your own meals. You get a sandwich and she sticks with her salad bar. You both sit down in the middle of the restaurant that you picked out strategically. If she turns out to be an awkward person who likes silence then you can watch TV on the flat screen showing sports behind her head.

"So, Brittany tells me you're from Chicago," Rachel mentions spearing a cherry tomato and popping it in her mouth.

You nod, "Are you from Lima?"

Rachel looks up and nods her confirmation, "I lived in New York for a few years, but my dad got sick so I came back to help my daddy take care of him."

You swear your heard her say dad and daddy. You're not going to ask her to clarify because it doesn't really concern you. But you can't imagine being two dads being easy in this town either. Maybe that's why Rachel and Brittany were such good friends in high school.

"Did you go to college in New York?" you ask her, trying to keep this conversation going on in the direction of Rachel and away from you and your boring existence.

She nods. "But I didn't finish. My dad got sick my junior year so I dropped out – well dropped everything – to move back."

"You sound close with your parents," you observe taking a bite of your sandwich.

She nods. "My dads have always supported me and my dreams."

You wish you could say the same. You got pushed from singing and literature into medicine. It doesn't really matter now. Medicine is working out for you as of right now.

"What about your parents?" she asks, turning the conversational spotlight on you.

You shrugs, your eyes on your food. "As long as I'm doing what my parents want they'll be happy, but… I don't think they're happy with me right now."

"Oh?" she seems genuinely interested, spurring you on.

"I didn't go into orthopedics like they wanted…like my dad did," you try to wave it off. "It's not a big deal." They haven't called you in a long time, but you don't really mind. Your dad is always awkward and your mom always asks about marriage and kids. It's just easier most of the time to not hear from them.

"That's a pity," she says sincerely. "You're doing a great thing for the kids. Brittany talks about you all the time."

"Oh yeah?" you ask, your interest spiked at the mention of Brittany talking about you, "Like what?"

Rachel smiles and something about it seems sly. "She just walks about how well you and Summer get along and how great you are at starting fires. How sweet you were, taking her to Philadelphia. And that you're a really great dancer."

That last part leaves you blushing. You think about that night of dancing quite often. When you and Brittany danced like that, it was like sex with clothes on. It's definitely weird to think about it like that, but that's exactly how it felt. Then when she didn't deny you two were dating… of course you didn't either.

Rachel's smiling at you like you're a cute puppy when you drop back into reality. You pick up a chip that's on the plate next to your sandwich, trying to play it off, "Brittany's a way better dancer than me."

"She's always been an incredible dancer," Rachel nods. "That's why her dad insisted on turning the guest room in Brittany's house into a dances studio. We were going to go to New York together after high school. She was going to dance and I was going to take Broadway by storm, but…. Life got in the way for both of us." Rachel swallows and looks down, seemingly saddened by both their chains that kept them here.

You think that you're starting to connect some dots in Brittany's past. "Were you a cheerleader?"

Rachel laughs, "Oh no. God no. Not that it was bad. Brittany was the sweetest Cheerio ever." She moves the remainder of lettuce around in her bowl. "I was just…not a Cheerio."

"Oh," you move your straw around in your drink. Rachel's apparently not the cheerleader that Brittany fell in love with. You take a sip of your tea and put it back down.

Rachel bites her lips and taps her fingers on the table. She opens her mouth like she's going to say something, but stops. Then a few seconds later, she says, "I have to go. My dad has treatment in an hour. I'll drop you off on the way."

When you get back to the school, Rachel smiles at you as you get out, "We have to do this again sometime."

You nod. She seems nice enough and it's nice to have another friend.

"How about tomorrow night?" she asks with a grin that borders on devious, "I can show you some of the infamous Lima nightlife."

"Infamous?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.

She laughs, "Fine. I'll show you some of the Lima nightlife."

You find yourself agreeing and you set a time for her to pick you up. You manage to slip in that it'd be fun if Brittany came along. Rachel doesn't seem surprised by your suggestions and agrees. She tells you that she'll call Brittany to ask.

You walk back into the elementary school, sipping on your to-go drink. You should probably make a run by the middle school and make sure no one has been dared to drink an entire bottle of hot sauce again. But before you do, you sit in the infirmary for a few minutes, maybe hoping that Brittany or Summer will stop by. Maybe. Probably. Yes, that's what you're waiting for.

When neither one shows up ten minutes later, you decide to get back to your job.

After work, you head straight home and drop on the couch. Some of your ER experience came in handy when one of the high school basketball players broke his ankle. You managed to stabilize his ankle and direct the EMTs on what to do as they went to the hospital. You ended up going with them because the player asked you to. At the hospital, you consulted with the ER doctors before they gave him something for the pain and somehow you ended up being the one to set his ankle. You're apparently the only specialized orthopedic doctor in the area.

So you end up at home hours after you should have been home. You have to admit that being in a hospital and knowing what you're doing, directing nurses, and using the instruments you were trained to use was kind of exhilarating.

You know you need to eat, but you can't get up off of the couch. You just lay there, staring at the blank TV until your phone buzzes. It's a text. _I heard you had a busy day. Have you eaten today?_

Brittany's concern makes you smile. You text back. _I had lunch with Rachel, but no dinner yet. Do you want to meet somewhere?_

_Summer and I already ate, but she wanted to bring you some enchiladas we made._

You tell Brittany that she doesn't have to bring it to you, but she insists. Then you scramble to clean up your apartment. It's not really all that dirty. You just need to pick some things up.

Just as there's a knock on the door, you throw the last of your dirty clothes into the hamper in your bedroom.

You trot to the door and open it. You see both Pierces standing there. Brittany's holding a casserole dish and Summer is holding a flower. Summer thrusts the flower up at you and you smile and accept it. "Thanks Summer."

Brittany just smiles at you as you let them in. You apologize for the mess although it's really just how it usually is in your apartment. Brittany tells you it's cleaner than her house. Then you apologize for not having a dining table. Brittany doesn't seems to mind at all.

You all sit down on the couch. You let Summer watch TV and play with your stethoscope while you eat. Brittany puts her elbow on the back of the couch, leaning her head back onto her hand and asks you about your day. You explain everything that happened with the boy that broke his ankle. Brittany is genuinely interested. When you finish off the enchiladas that Brittany brought you and add. "Anyway, the hospital offered me a contract to be the on call orthopedic specialist."

"That's great," she touches your shoulder.

Somehow she makes you feel more proud of that offer than you did before. You smile and slowly nod, "Do you think I should do it?"

"I think you should if you want to," she take the empty plate from your hands and gets up off of the couch. "You'd be amazing at it."

You get up and walk after her into the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

She turns on the sink and starts to rinse off your dish, "Nothing."

"I'm perfectly capable of doing my own dishes," you huff and cross your arms.

"Of course you are," Brittany nods with a coy grin, "But you've had a super long day."

You can't really do anything about it now. She's already put the dish in the dishwasher. You just wait for her at the door of the kitchen and trap her in a hug as she tries to side step you. You've never, ever been a hugger. You're more of a nod and a wave kind of person, but there's something about her that makes you want to embrace her.

It may be how her arms always wrap completely around you in just the right way. You can feel them cross your back, strong and secure, holding you against her. She's standing strong as you tiredly lean into her.

"Are you okay?" she asks softly, rubbing your back.

You nod against her shoulder. "Yeah. I'm just tired."

"I'll get Summer and we'll go so that you can sleep," Brittany starts to pull away, but you pull her back.

"Not yet," you say before you can stop yourself from being so needy.

She moves her torso away from yours to look at you and moves your hair away from your face. "We'll stay as long as you want."

Part of you doesn't want to make them stay, but you know that the majority of you wants them to stay. You want to hear all about both of their days and then take them out for ice cream. Then you want to tuck Summer in and sit in front of the fire with Brittany. You've been putting off how much that sounds like way more than what people do with their friends. It sounds like something someone would do with someone they were in a romantic relationship with.

And you know that your feelings have been moving that way for quite some time now, but you've never thought of this. You've never considered being in a relationship with a woman. You're your parents' perfect doctor daughter. Your mom has been trying to get you to marry a doctor or a lawyer for years to complete their perfect family. You don't think that the woman part would throw them as much as the teacher part.

But Brittany is… everything anyone could ever want and you're starting to come to terms with the fact that she's what you want. You have no reservations about going into a relationship with a single parent. You already feel a connection with Summer. It's just…can you take a step in that direction outside of your head.

"Santana?" you hear as a soft hand cups your cheek and another gently rubs your back.

You blink and focus on her, wondering how long you've been quietly thinking.

Brittany's eyes comb over your face and she runs her thumb across your cheek. "C'mon, you're exhausted. You can go straight to bed or you can take a bath first."

"But," you sigh. You know you're exhausted, but you want to keep visiting with Brittany and Summer.

She smiles understandingly and drops her hand from your cheek to take your hand. "I'll go start your bath. Summer's bedtime is in half an hour so you can soak for twenty minutes then we'll talk until it's time for Summer to go to be. Okay? Then maybe you can come over before school tomorrow and have breakfast with us?"

That does sound perfectly reasonable. You let your foggy brain decide that she's right. You feel yourself nodding and being led to the couch where Summer is listening to her own heartbeat with the stethoscope. When Brittany disappears into your room to start the bath, Summer insists on listening to your heartbeat. By the time you're done teaching her how to listen to someone's breathing, Brittany comes to get you.

"Bath time," she sings at you.

You roll your eyes. Now you realize how much this makes you feel like a child. You roll your eyes and mock, "Yes mommy."

As you're walking into the bedroom, she swats your ass and you pause for a beat. Yeah, you need to sort out your feelings and you need to quickly.

You get out of the bath ten minutes early. There isn't much talking though. Summer lays across you and Brittany as you all watch Friends. Sometimes you look over at Brittany to find her looking back and you share a smile or a laugh. You keep carefully watch of the time and hope that Brittany isn't. As the time goes by, you feel the need to make her stay start to rise. You know you're not going to try to make her stay, but it doesn't stop the panic from overtaking you.

"We have to go," Brittany says a few minutes after Summer's bedtime.

You understand and help them out to their car. You stand there with your hands in your pockets as Brittany buckles Summer in. Then when she stands up, she steps over to you. "So breakfast?" she asks, confirming your earlier plans.

You nod. "Definitely. Do I need to bring anything?"

Brittany thinks for a moment, "Orange juice."

You smile, "orange juice it is." You don't want to be the first one to step up for a hug, but you don't want her to leave without getting one.

Luckily, she steps up to you and wraps her arms around your neck. You hold her around her waist and close your eyes. You can feel her forehead on your shoulder, and you can feel a deep breath under your arms. "Are you okay Britt?"

She takes a step back and withdraws her arms. She looks nervous, but covers it with a smile. "I'm fine." Then her smile becomes genuine, "You need to get to bed."

You smile back despite her telling you what to do. When she reaches for the driver's side door of her car, your smile fades a bit, but you cross your arms and force it, "Goodnight."

She opens the door and pauses before getting in. She looks at you over the door and grins, "Goodnight, Santana."


	7. Chapter 7: Neon by John Mayer

Normally you wouldn't wake up this early for work. All you do is put your hair up and throw your scrubs on. It takes all of fifteen minutes with make-up application. But today, you have a breakfast date. But not a date-date. A friendly breakfast date. Yeah friendly breakfast date. Yeah right. Tell that to the flowers you bought when you stopped for orange juice.

When you walk up the steps to the front door you consider throwing the flowers away, but before you can the door opens. Brittany smiles widely at you, "Good morning."

You offer her the flowers and the orange juice, "Good morning."

"These are beautiful," Brittany coos and leads the way into her living room then to the kitchen.

Summer's already at the table, pouring syrup onto her pancakes. Brittany opens the orange juice and pours some in an empty glass in front of Summer. Then she points you to your seat next to Summer. The little blonde grins at you with a mouthful of pancake. Brittany sits down next to you and you all start eating breakfast.

"What are you doing at school today Sum?" you ask, sipping the coffee that Brittany pours right as you sit down.

She cocks her head thinking about it. Then she nods to herself, "Recess."

"That's it?" you ask with a fond smile.

"Class too," she says and stuffs another bite of pancake into her mouth. "Science. I like science."

"I like science too," you glance over at Brittany who is smiling at the pair of you. You shoot a short smile back at her before asking Summer about her other classes.

Breakfast is short and when Brittany goes to help Summer find her shoes, you get to doing the dishes. By the time you finish, Brittany breezes in and stops at the door. "You did the dishes." She says it like she's surprised.

You dry off your hands on the kitchen towel and hang it back up. You nod. "Well I was taught growing up that the cook never cleaned." That was because the maid cleaned, but that's beside the point. You close the dishwasher and turn it on.

"Thank you," she leans on the doorframe. "For doing the dishes and for having breakfast with us."

"It was my pleasure," you lean back on the counter, facing her. "Do you need anything else before I head to work?"

"I don't think so," she smiles at you.

You hate to go, but you do actually need to get to work and staying longer might incite something that you may regret. Because if you ever say anything, which will take a bravery that you're not even sure you have, you have to be completely sure.

* * *

You're walking along the hallway in the elementary school when you hear your name being called. You turn around to see Brittany walking toward you. You smile and ask, "Miss me already?"

She giggles with you and pulls your phone out of her pocket, "That and you forgot this."

You take it from her and look it over. You've never forgotten your phone before. "Thank you so much." Your brain is all over the place today. You have a feeling that the blonde in front of you has something to do with it.

"No problem," Brittany looks at you, "So I was thinking..."

She trails off so you look up at her from your phone and see her staring over your shoulder.

She looks perfect. Like Stepford perfect. Her straight blonde hair, yellow dress, and her white cardigan with matching flats make her the picture of flawlessness. She smiles as she walks up to you and Brittany. "Hey Brittany."

Brittany seems awestruck by the woman's entrance and you are all kinds of confused. Brittany licks her lips and forces a smile. "Hey Quinn. What are you doing here?"

"I am in town for my mom and stepdad's anniversary," she tells Brittany, completely ignoring you. She doesn't even glance at you. "But I came here, specifically, to see if I can take you to dinner tonight."

There's a long pause while you look between them. Quinn is just smiling and Brittany is looks lost and confused. She looks like she needs a drink. "I-I don't have anyone to watch Summer," Brittany manages to get out and you're starting to feel like you should intervene. Brittany is clearly intimidated or something by this Quinn woman.

Quinn finally acknowledges you with a smile. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Quinn Fabray."

"Santana," you only give her the courtesy of your first name because she knows Brittany. If she didn't, you probably would have ignored her like she just ignored you.

"You're Brittany's friend, right?" Quinn touches Brittany's arm while looking at you. You can see Brittany seems breathless.

You nod. "Her best friend." You narrow your eyes and tilt your head. "Why?"

"I assume that her best friend can watch Summer for a night while I take Brittany out so that we can catch up," Quinn's eyes flicker between you both and finally rest on you.

You turn to Brittany. If Brittany wants you to then you will, but you don't know about this girl. She gives you a bad feeling. Brittany finally turns to you, breaking her dazed gaze at Quinn and asks, "Can you San?"

You look between her and Quinn one last time. You don't like whatever's going on between them. Whatever it is. However, you can't really say much because you haven't said anything to Brittany about whatever it is you're feeling for her. "Sure. I was going to have dinner with Rachel tonight, is it okay if Summer comes?"

"Of course," Brittany nods. She does look at you quizzically after that for a few seconds before turning to Quinn.

"Great," Quinn smiles her perfect smile and touches Brittany's arm again. "I'll pick you up at seven." She gives you on last look. It is way less nice than the smile she gave Brittany. "Tell Rachel I said hi."

She doesn't wait for you to answer. She turns around and walks out of the school, her perfect blonde hair swaying with every step.

"Thank you so much for watching Summer on such short notice," Brittany tells you after you both watch the door close behind Quinn. She touches your hand. "I won't be out late I promise."

"It's no problem," you meet her eyes knowing that you'd do anything for her. Anything she asks. Even watching Summer while she goes out with another woman.

"I have to get back to my class," she says. But she says it like her brain is already somewhere else. She doesn't make a move to hug you. She just turns and walks out.

* * *

Rachel wants to meet at a diner because you're bringing Summer. It's fairly easy to find, right off of the highway and Rachel is very easy to find in the wooden booth near a small stage in the back. She stands up and hugs you. You're a little uncomfortable with it, but bear through it because you need all the friends you can get. All two of them.

Then Rachel hugs Summer. "Hey kiddo."

"Hi Rachel," Summer crawls into the booth and you sit next to her.

"Where's Brittany this evening?" Rachel asks, straightening her silverware.

You look down at the table, not liking the answer to that question. "She's with Quinn."

"What," Rachel's eyes widen. It would be comical if you weren't so alarmed by it.

"Quinn says hi," you tap your fingers on the table.

"This is not good," Rachel runs a hand through her hair. "Did Brittany tell you how she knows Quinn?"

You shake your head. Although you wish she would have.

"Did she tell you about the cheerleader in high school?" Rachel leans back and crosses her arms.

You nod. You'll never forget that conversation. All the hurt and the pain in Brittany's eyes hurt you. Which explains why Brittany was so anxious when Quinn showed up in the hallway. "Quinn is Brittany's cheerleader?"

Rachel nods and rolls her eyes at the same time. She glances at Summer who is coloring on her menu and leans forward, lowering her voice, "Quinn just likes messing with Brittany. She loves the attention. I know that Brittany seems the best in people, but she has to have tunnel vision when it comes to Quinn because there's not a whole lot of good there."

"Then why don't we go get her?" you ask. You reach into your pocket and fish out your keys. You're ready to rescue Brittany from the evil cheerleader.

Rachel shakes her head. "It doesn't help. Brittany knows afterwards that she shouldn't, but she still does."

"Why?" you ask, dropping your keys.

"Because this is Lima, Ohio," Rachel takes a deep breath and rests her chin in her palm. "She doesn't have a very large dating pool."

You drop your head. Maybe you could have stopped this. You could have told her how you feel and maybe she wouldn't put herself through this Quinn mess.

* * *

You and Summer go to your apartment after dinner and play checkers with a glass chess set your parents bought you for whatever reason. The TV is droning on behind you, but it's the only other noise besides the clinking of the pieces on the board.

You can't stop thinking about Brittany. You wonder if it's okay. If she and Quinn are having fun. If she's at Quinn's hotel room right now doing...

A knock on your door saves you from yourself. You don't know if you could sleep at night thinking that Brittany might have had sex with Quinn.

At the door Brittany smiles at you. It's not as large as it usually is and her head is tilted down a little. You immediately ask, "Are you okay?"

She nods, playing with the keys in her hand, "Yeah. It was just... "

"Quinn?" you ask, knowing that you may be close to overstepping your bounds.

Brittany flips her hair away from her face. "It's not a big deal."

"I know I don't know Quinn," you look at Brittany's body how exhausted she looks. How her shoulders are slumped and how her head is tilted down. You have to say something, "But from what I saw today and what Rachel told me, she's not someone you should be dating or whatever. I know it's not my business, but..."

"It wasn't a date," Brittany interrupts you. "It was just dinner. We never dated. Quinn's straight." They way she says it makes it seem like she's defeated somehow. That wounds you in a way that you can't describe.

You pause, letting that sink in. Then you shake your head trying to stay on point, "Regardless, the way she treats you isn't okay."

"It's fine Santana," Brittany states, effectively ending the conversation. A little something about the way she says it is harsh.

You cross your arms, hurt by her tone and her dismissal of your concern. You step back and let her in, not meeting her eyes. No one has ever managed to render you speechless like this before.

Brittany steps in and closes the door behind her. She seems to know that she did something to you because she puts her hand on your crossed forearm and says your name softly. You clench your jaw and keep avoiding her eyes.

When Brittany steps away you're afraid that she's just going to leave. You're about to apologize when you see Brittany getting Summer to lay down on the couch and turning on some cartoons for her. Then she steps back over to you. "Can we please go talk in the kitchen?"

You nod and follow her into the kitchen. But you keep the shield of your crossed arms up and you try to lean back on the counter like you don't care. But you do. All too much.

"I'm sorry," she stands in front of you apologetically. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you. It's just that every time Quinn comes to town, I... It throws me." She keeps her head tilted down, but looks at you through her lashes, "I don't know why."

You drop your arms and feel bad for being so offended. "It's okay," you know that she's having a hard time with Quinn being in town. You put your hand on her shoulder and pull her to you. She doesn't resist and leans into you, letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry Brittany." You know that you could tell her now. Tell her that you think you have feelings for her and you have for some time now, but you think that now it would do more harm than help. It could just make everything worse.

You just stand in the kitchen and hold her until Summer walks in asking for some water. Brittany takes a step away from you and looks away from Summer while she wipes her eyes. You step between Brittany and Summer to get the little girl her water.

Then when you're not sure Brittany is ready for Summer to see her, you pick her up and take the obviously sleepy girl to your bed. You turn on the rarely used TV in your bedroom and brush away the blonde wisps from her face as she snuggles into your pillow.

You make your way back into the kitchen where Brittany leaning against the counter, looking at the ground. You open the freezer and pull out a bottle of vodka. Then you grab the orange juice out of the refrigerator and tuck it under your arm. Then you take Brittany's hand and pull her into the living room.

"What are you doing?" she asks, sniffling and falling back onto the couch.

You sit down next to her. "Orange juice is good for you. Vitamin C and all that crap."

She quirks an eyebrow with a smirk playing on her lips. "What about the vodka?"

"Vodka is good for you too," you unscrew the top of the orange juice and then unscrew the cap on the vodka. "It's made from potatoes. Potatoes are vegetables."

She chuckles as you pour a healthy amount of vodka into the orange juice bottle, "You got through med school?"

"Ha ha," you mockingly laugh. Then when you look at her, you actually laugh. You close the orange juice and shake it up. "Just remind me tomorrow morning that there's vodka in this so I don't go to work drunk."

You take turns passing the "orange juice" back and forth while you watch old sitcom returns until way past midnight. Brittany is stretched out across the couch with her head on your shoulder. You have your arm around her, holding her against you. She fell asleep halfway through the 12:30 rerun of The Cosby Show.

You know that if you move you risk waking her up so you grab a blanket off of the back of the couch and throw it over her, then make yourself as comfortable as possible. Before you let yourself go to sleep, you kiss her forehead.

* * *

When you wake up it's probably because of a sharp pain in your back. You stretch out and look around. The orange juice is still on the coffee table, but the bottle of vodka is missing. You can hear cartoons playing in your room and the faint sound of voices.

You push up off of the couch and decide to grab some ibuprofen out of the kitchen and start the coffee before you ask the ladies in your bedroom if they're hungry.

In the kitchen as you measure out the coffee grounds you can hear them talking. "Rachel doesn't like Quinn," Summer says.

"I know," Brittany says softly.

"Santana doesn't either," Summer adds.

Brittany doesn't say anything back. You fill up the coffee maker with water and turn it on.

When you get the ibuprofen out of the cabinet you hear Summer start talking, "I thought you weren't supposed to date two people at the same time."

"You're right. It's not nice," Brittany explains.

There's a pause before Summer asks, "Then why did you go on a date with Quinn?"

"It wasn't a date," Brittany quickly says to her daughter, "But even if it was, I'm not dating anyone."

"Yes you are," Summer states like she's one million percent sure that she's right.

You're very interested in this conversation now. It would be nice if you knew who Brittany is dating. That also makes you wonder why she hasn't told you. You feel a little crestfallen upon learning that she's been seeing someone.

"Who?" Brittany asks the question you want to. Her tone makes you think that she has no idea what Summer's talking about with.

"Santana," Summer states with all the certainty in the world.

You blink, not really sure what to think. Brittany takes a moment before answering, "I'm not dating Santana."

"You're not?" Summer asks and you know the look on her face even though you can't see it, her wrinkled nose and squinted eyes, "But you go on dates all the time."

"They're not dates," Brittany is extremely patient with her explanations.

Summer pauses and then says, "I want you to date Santana."

You smile to yourself. It looks like you have someone in your corner when it comes to finally spilling your guts.

You finally decide that you've eavesdropped enough. You need to tell Brittany and you need to do it today. You don't want her to be sad. You want to make her so happy. And you want to make Summer happy.

You look around your kitchen and don't find any suitable breakfast so you walk into your bedroom. Brittany is on your bed and Summer is laying with her, curled up against her mom. You smile and lean on the doorframe. "What would you ladies like for breakfast? I have a whole lot of nothing."

"Muffins!" Summer cheers and sits up.

You nod. "I'll go get muffins from the coffee place down the street and a vanilla latte for the lady?" you smile at Brittany.

She tries to tell you that you don't have to, but you ignore her and run down the street. When you get back, your bed is made and they've moved to the living room.

"What's going on at school today?" you ask Summer.

She finishes chewing and answers, "The book fair is today after lunch."

"Oh awesome," you smile at her. "Do you like to read a lot?"

"All the time," she nods like everyone has the exact same opinion as her on that.

Brittany remembers that she needs to give Summer money for the books she wants. Then you manage to sneak Summer another ten dollars while Brittany is getting some water from the kitchen. Summer giggles and her nose wrinkles with her snickers.

"What's going on?" Brittany puts her hands on her hips and looks down at you and Summer.

You look away and whistle while Summer keeps giggling. Neither one of you say anything and finally Brittany gives up.

Brittany and Summer take off to school a few minutes later and you make your way to your office at the admin building after the best way to start your day.


	8. Chapter 8: Skin by Rihanna

You spend most of the day in your office, taking care of paperwork until you get called to the middle school with a strange rash of vomiting pre-teens. It doesn't take you long to find out that the reason is a particularly nasty mixture of vodka, tequila, and gin in a plastic water bottle.

One of the boys that is laid up in the infirmary begs you not to tell his parents. You just shrug and pour out the rancid liquid in the drain and trash the bottle. You just tell them that they need to not mix their liquor, drink water, and then you go to the high school to look at a sports injury. You can't tell them to not do it. You were just as bad if not worse when you were a kid.

Your phone vibrates as you walk back to your car to go back to the admin building so you can get ready to go home. You pull it out before you open your car and see that it's a text from Brittany. _Do you want to come to the GSA at the high school in half an hour? Help the kids? I'm going to be a little late._

You text back, remembering how angry you were when you found out that people had treated Brittany poorly in high school and how she told you about the kids that are going through the same thing right now. _I'm already here. Where is it?_

You arrive in the meeting room a little early and find that it's a regular classroom. There's a girl in the front row wearing all black, listening to music. She's all by herself and you walk in slowly. She looks up and takes off her headphones. "The Health Occupation Service Association meeting is two rooms that way." She points behind her.

"Oh no," you pull out your phone to check the room number, "I'm here for the GSA meeting."

"Oh," she says and looks you over. "Then that's here. Are you a G or an S?"

"Um, what does it stand for again?" you ask.

The girl chuckles. "Gay Straight Alliance."

"I'm the alliance," you try a joke and she laughs.

"Stop!" you hear a yell from the hallway and run out of the room.

There are two huge guys in letterman jackets pinning some much smaller boy against the lockers. You trot over to them, "Hey!"

The jocks step away from the other boy. One of them looks at you, "Who are you?"

Part of you wants to punch this guy in the face. A younger you would have. Instead you step between the small boy and the beefy jocks. "Get out of here."

"What are you going to do about it?" he asks, glancing back at his friend.

You smirk. He just gave himself away. You know why he's doing what he's doing. "You're threatening a school administrator to impress your friend?"

"No," he shakes his head, but you can see in his eyes that you caught him.

You cross your arms, letting the high school you out a little bit. You take a step toward him which he answers with a step back, "Oh really? You didn't just take a step at me?"

"I-I," he looks back at his friend who looks ready to run.

"I'm going to say this one more time before I have to bring this assault on a student to the attention of the school board," you narrow your eyes and growl, "Get out."

They both glance at each other before walking away as quickly as they can without looking like they're running away. You look back at the kid. "You okay?"

He nods, fixing his hair. Then he straightens his shirt and adjust the strap of his messenger bag.

The girl from the GSA meeting puts a piece of the boy's hair back in place before leading him back into the GSA classroom. You walk in after them and sit on the teacher's desk. "Does that happen often?"

The boy seems annoyed with the questions, "At least once a week. Most of the time, I'm wearing a slushie by now."

You frown as more people trickle in. Soon there are about twelve kids in the room. A girl walks up to you and introduces herself as the president. She's dressed extremely preppy from the Polo sweater to her a-line skirt. "I'm Stacy. My brother's gay."

"I'm Santana," you introduce yourself. "Brittany asked me to come. She's going to be a little late."

"You're the district doctor," she states. Then she nods. "You're not from here."

You shake your head. "No I'm not."

"I'm glad you're here though," she offers a smile. "The more people, the more awareness. Having an ally like you would be amazing for our cause. The GSA is mostly just the Glee club."

You're glad that you're here for this. You couldn't help Brittany, but you can help the kids like her. "Whatever I can do to help."

"Great," she smiles. "We're having a car wash on Saturday in the football stadium parking lot. You can bring your car by."

"I totally will," you nod. You were just planning on doing whatever Brittany was doing anyway.

"Okay, do you mind if I start the meeting?" Stacy asks you, pulling a binder out of her bag that's covered in rainbows.

You tell her to go ahead and start. She turns to the group and smiles. "Hey everyone." She goes over some initiative stuff that you find interesting. She sighs when she says that the administration is dragging their feet about it.

"Do you have a copy of that?" you interrupt her.

She nods and pulls out a sheet of paper. You look it over and find that they want to add sexual orientation to the list of things categorized as hate crimes, which falls under the school district's zero tolerance policy. You don't see the problem with it. You actually like it a lot. You look up at the clock and see that it's a little before five. "Excuse me."

When you step out into the hallway you call your boss. The superintendent that will do anything for you. You put the phone to your ear.

"Hey how's my favorite doctor," he answers the phone. The same way he does every time you call him.

"I'm not doing too well," you say, pacing up and down the hallway.

His voice gets a little higher in pitch when he asks, "What's wrong? Tell me and I'll see what I can do."

You explain the paper in your hand and ask what the problem is. When he tries to explain, you put your hand on your hip and know that he's doing to you what he's been doing to the kids. You however will not take this. "Here's the deal," you say as you spot Brittany walking down the hallway. She stops in front of you, looking at you, trying to figure out what you're doing. "You said that if I needed anything I could have it. Unless you want the school district to have to hire an attorney, this amendment needs to be passed. It is your job to protect your students and you are not doing your job. In fact you are being completely negligent in your job to make a safe learning environment for _everyone_."

"I understand," he says to you. "I found the copy given to me and I will make sure this gets through."

"Thank you," you look at the ground, knowing that Brittany is still looking at you. "Do you still want me to do that presentation on mono and STDs?" You offer even though you really didn't want to have to do it, but you understand how things like this work. You don't get something for nothing.

"Please," he says, "And I'll make sure your amendment gets passed before the close of school today."

"In the exact wording it was written in and I'll get something together," you tell him and scratch your head wondering what the hell you're going to pull together before the assembly on Friday.

"Thank you Dr. Lopez," he states like he's not too happy with you, but you're doing him a favor on both fronts even if he doesn't know it.

You hang up and look up at Brittany. She narrows her eyes at you like she's trying to read you. "What's going on?"

You hand her the page that was slightly crumpled in your hand, "This is done."

She looks it over and her eyes widen. "Are you serious?"

You nod. "In return, I am doing a presentation on mono and STDs at the assembly on Friday."

You frown when you see tears in Brittany's eyes. But she throws her arms around you. "Thank you so much Santana. It means so much to me and the kids."

You close your eyes and hold her tight around her waist, knowing that you'd do anything for her. "It's not a problem."

She excitedly pulls away and looks at you. Her smile fades a bit and you can see her tracing your face, her eyes linger a little on your lips. You self-consciously lick them and turn your head away, flushed.

A tiny giggle escapes her lips. She takes your hand and pulls you into the classroom, excitedly telling everyone what you just did. You get a round of applause from the mass of misfit kids.

You don't mind the applause, but for that look on Brittany's face, you'd make a billion presentations about STDs and threaten every superintendent in the world.

They go on with the meeting while you sit in the teacher's chair, watching. They talk about how much hurt some of them go through everyday. Someone tells Brittany about how you helped the kid in the hallway with the jocks and she gives you another one of her special smiles.

When the meeting is over, all the kids walk out together, some of the singing. Stacy stops to thank you for helping pass her initiative. She tells you about how her brother was bullied until he got to the high school and she could help him. You never realized how bad it was. You guess unless you're the one with the problem, it's hard to see it.

When the last person leaves, Brittany turns to you and leans on the desk across from you. "You're amazing."

Your eyebrows furrow. "What?"

"You are," she smiles at you like you solved world hunger or something. "You came in here and didn't really know what was going on, but you care. The kids need more people that care."

"I just don't want what happened to you to happen to them," you lean forward and look up into her eyes so she knows it's true.

She holds your eyes for a full minute before hanging her head. "Where were you when I was in high school?"

"St. Mary's Prep School in Chicago," you answer with a smile.

She laughs and pushes off of the desk. "Well, I think we would have been best friends then too."

"Oh yeah," you nod. "I may have even become a cheerleader with you." Although, you can't really imagine a universe where you want to be a cheerleader though.

"The three of us could have been unstoppable," a voice floats in from the door.

You look over at whoever interrupted your moment with Brittany. Quinn is smiling in the doorway wearing a bright green dress, her hair in a sideways braid. There's a white headband on her head, but it doesn't hold back a few bangs framing her face.

You cross your arms and walk around the desk to stand next to Brittany who has become mute. You address her because Brittany hasn't. "Hey Quinn. What's going on?"

"I'm about to leave to go back to New York," she says, "I figured that maybe I could convince Brittany to go out with me. There's an awesome club I heard about."

You look over at Brittany and see her not really even look like her brain was still in the room. You take a deep breath. You know that Brittany will probably agree to go eventually based on past behavior. So you preemptively strike. "You know that sounds awesome. I have been looking for more clubs around here. How about you text Brittany the address and we'll go get ready and meet you there?"

Quinn does look taken aback by your forwardness. She looks over at Brittany. "Is that okay with you Brittany?"

Brittany visibly swallows and nods.

Quinn lets out a smile that doesn't seem entirely genuine. "Awesome. I'll meet you both there in an hour." She blows Brittany a kiss and then walks out.

You and Brittany go back to your apartment and raid your closet for something to wear. Summer's going to stay with her parents so you can stay out for a long, as you want. However, you're going to try to keep it at a minimum though.

Brittany's phone beeps while she's standing in your closet and you're laying on your bed waiting for her to pick something out. She asks you to check her phone that's on the bed next to you. You have to dig it out from under a dress your wore to your med school graduation. It's Quinn sending the address with a little kissy face at the end. "She's such a bitch," you say out loud, although you didn't mean to.

"She's not a bitch," Brittany walks out of the closet with a wine red dress in her hand. "She's just... she's sad."

"Why is she sad?" you ask, pushing up on your elbows. You don't really believe that she's not a bitch.

Brittany sits down next to you and looks over her shoulder at you. "High school wasn't easy for her either. Her dad was... so hard on her. He was so..."

"Overbearing," you say. "He wants her to be perfect. He wants her to be just like him. He wants her to be successful and marry wealthy and live the perfect life. He wants two perfect grandchildren who are doctors just like him." It's so easy for you to do this. You've lived that life your whole life.

Brittany turns on the bed and looks at you. Her hand rests on your knee and softly rubs her thumb over your knee. "You're both a lot alike. You and Quinn. But you handle it a lot better than she does."

Although you don't like being lumped together with Quinn, you figure that if Brittany fell in love with her, it's not bad company to be in. "I didn't mean to call her a bitch. I just don't like the way she treats you. I talked about it with Rachel and she agrees with me."

Brittany smiles, "I know exactly what Rachel thinks of Quinn."

"So you know that Rachel thinks that Quinn loves your undivided attention," you ask, placing one of your hands behind your head and one on your stomach. "That Quinn gets off on it."

Brittany looks down at her hand on your knee and nods slowly. "I know that Rachel thinks that. And I know that that's what Quinn wants. I just," she pauses to look at you, "Quinn doesn't know how to be loved."

"Britt," you touch her forearm. "You can't fix everyone."

Brittany looks away from you. "I want to help her. Even though we're not together, if we were ever really together, I want her to be happy. I want her to feel loved."

You don't want to ask, but you know that you have to before you tear apart a friendship because of your growing feelings. "Are you still in love with her?"

Brittany puts the dress in her lap down next to her and fully turns around to face you. Her whole shin is pressed against the side of your leg. She looks at your hand on your stomach and then runs her fingers over every all of your fingers and the back of your hand. "I'm not as in love with her as I once was. She was my first...everything. I know that dating her again would never happen and I don't want to date her again, but I still want to see her happy."

You take her hand and pull her down on the bed with you. She rests her head on your chest and you wrap your arms around her. "Brittany Pierce, you are a beautiful person." You kiss the top of her head and pray that no one will ever be able to change her.

You continue to stroke her hair as she lays on you for another ten minutes. You start to worry that she's really upset when your phone buzzes.

You barely have to move to grab it, but Brittany gets up anyway. "We should probably finish getting ready."

You nod and then open your text. It's from Rachel asking if you want to go out tonight for dinner.

You tell her about Quinn and how you jumped in so they wouldn't go alone. She asks where you're going and hints that she might just happen to be there later as well.

"How do I look?"

You look up from your phone and almost drop it. Delicious. Delicious is how she looks. And you almost say that out loud. Instead you inhale a shaky breath and tell her she looks beautiful. She's taller than you so your black cocktail dress that she's borrowing is short and low, but leaves plenty to your overactive imagination.

She smiles at you when you call her beautiful. Then she throws an champagne colored cocktail dress onto you and tells you to change. She steps into the bathroom to touch up her make-up and you get to changing, wondering how you came into possession of all these cocktail dresses in the first place.

When you walk into the club with Brittany, it does actually seem like the one decent place in like with any semblance of a nightlife. There is loud music and the young professionals of the town gyrating to the sound. You even spot Mike dancing with some girl on the dance floor.

You spot Quinn first. She's sitting at an oversized booth, sipping a cosmo and watching the people move around. She does look sad. And lost. You start to feel a little sorry for her. You look at Brittany who is waving to someone on the dance floor. When she sees you watching her, you take her hand and lead her over to Quinn.

When she sees you, Quinn stands up. She hugs Brittany and then just sort of looks at you. Quinn takes Brittany's hands, holding them out, "Where did you get this? It's incredible."

"It's Santana's," Brittany smiles. You think it's about the compliment, but when Brittany looks at you, she doesn't have that dazed look on her face that she used to when Quinn was around. She actually sees you and that makes you feel better. Quinn used to be a white-hot light, blinding Brittany, but now Brittany can see.

You decide to take a note from Brittany's book and be nice. You ask Quinn what she's drinking and then ask Brittany what she wants before going to the bar to get drinks for everyone.

"Hey," Rachel's voice loudly calls as she slides up next to you at the bar, "Where's Brittany and the Wicked Witch of the West?"

You turn around and point them out.

"You look awesome tonight Rachel!" the bartender says as he sets out the drinks your ordered.

"Thanks Finn," Rachel says, only half interested in the man behind the bar. Her eyes are still on the booth where Brittany and Quinn are talking.

"What are you drinking?" you ask Rachel.

"Um," Rachel rips her eyes away from the two blonde to tell Finn. "Vodka cranberry."

"She's with me," you point to Rachel and then hand over your credit card to start a tab. "And those two over there." You point out Brittany and Quinn.

Finn looks at who you're talking about and takes your card. When Rachel's drink is made you both walk over to the booth.

"Look who I found," you set everyone's drinks down in front of them.

"Hey Brittany!" Rachel grins and hugs Brittany when the blonde stands up to greet her.

Quinn looks less than pleased, but plasters on a smile. "It's good to see you again, Rachel."

"Hi Quinn," Rachel is better at hiding her distaste.

You're about to sit down when a guy walks over to the table. You remember him from the cultural fair. He was talking to Brittany and you thought he was Summer's dad. "Hello ladies." His smile is wide and his blonde hair is shaggy, hanging in his eyes.

"Hey Sam," Brittany gets up and hugs him.

"Hey Brittany," he looks her over, "You look fantastic."

"Thanks," Brittany smile and looks over at you. "This is Santana. She's the new doctor for the school district."

"Oh hey," he smiles even wider at you, putting his arm around Brittany's shoulders. "You're the one that helped my sister get her thing put into the zero tolerance thing at the high school for our brother. That's so awesome. I can't really thank you enough. Stevie is so much happier now that he can go to school and not be bullied."

You can't help, but smile back. "It was no problem. I just want to help the kids. It was really Brittany's doing. If she wasn't late I wouldn't have even been there."

Brittany and Sam laugh. You glance at Quinn and Rachel who are taking turns glaring at each other. You look around at the drinks on the table. There's no way that it's time for you to go get refills, which is disappointing. You wanted some kind of escape.

"I want to dance," you suddenly say and stand up.

Rachel takes that as her cue to insist that Brittany go dance too. Then Quinn decides to go dance and Sam asks Rachel to dance. You all walk out to the dance floor. You look around for a good spot to just lean back and watch when you get stopped in the middle of the dance floor by Quinn grabbing your wrist. You look around her and can't find Brittany, Rachel, or Sam anywhere behind Quinn. All you see if a wall of people all around you.

"What are you doing?" Quinn leans forward and yells over the music.

"I'm trying to dance," you pull your wrist away from her grasp.

"No," Quinn's face morphs into a bitch glare. "What are you doing with Brittany?"

"What do you mean?" you shrug, "We're friends."

"Bullshit," Quinn spits out.

This girl is really starting to piss you off. "It doesn't matter that the fuck we do. We can be friends or we can fuck 24/7. It's none of your business." You turn around to try to go find Brittany.

"It is my business," Quinn grabs your wrist again. She spins you around and steps up to you, "Brittany's mine."

"Who's full of shit now?" you ask her, accepting her challenge. "You're not in love with her. You just like stringing her along. You like the attention and it's fucked up that you treat her like that."

"You have no clue how I treat her," Quinn's grip tightens on your wrist.

You yank it away again, ready to box a bitch. "You come around whenever the fuck you want and disrupt her life because your life is shit. No one loves you because you won't let them. You don't have close friends because you're scared." You see realization wash over Quinn and instead of looking pissed anymore, she looks saddened. You add, "Tell me I'm wrong."

"Fuck you," Quinn's face finally hardens and she pushes you away from her. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know everything about you," you cross your arms. "You're me. But you see in this world I'm the one who realized that Brittany is the greatest person in the world and she deserves to be worshipped, not treated like a puppy that you play with whenever you get lonely."

There's a fire in Quinn's eyes when she scoffs at you. "That may be true, but in this world, I'm the one that Brittany's in love with and you're just her consolation prize."

You had no idea you could be cut that deeply. It would have been less painful if Quinn had broken a liquor bottle on the bar and stabbed you in the stomach. You swallow. Then you swallow again. You can feel the sting of tears in your eyes and you'll be damned if you cry in front of Quinn. So you turn on your heel and march across the dance floor and out the back door of the club.

The back door of the club leads to an alley. It smells like shit and stale booze. You just keep walking out to the street and then in the direction where you're pretty sure your apartment is. A few blocks away, a truck rumbles to a stop next to you.

There's a guy in it with a mowhawk and a McKinley High t-shirt on. He rolls down the passenger window to talk to you. You just roll your eyes. "I'm not a hooker asshole."

He laughs. "I know that. You're the doctor. You look like you need a ride." He leans over the front seat of his truck and opens the passenger door for you. "I'm the football coach. My friends call me Puck."

"You're the Puckerman that writes fake names on the sign up sheets," you half state and half ask.

He nods. "If you want, you can call me Hugh G. Rection."

"Clever," you roll your eyes.

"You like it?" he smirks, "I'm going to use it for the next time they ask me to sign up for parking lot patrol."

You decide that he's trustworthy enough. It's not like you really know where you are anyway. You're sorta drunk, your feet hurt, and your sure that your make up is a mess because of the crying that you'll venomously deny that you did.

When you're inside his truck and you close the door, Puck takes off. "Where do you live?"

"At the apartments by the high school," you look out the window and watch the streetlamps pass by.

"Oh cool," he says, "Me too. I live on the side that faces the football field."

"Cool," you say half heartedly, "I live by park."

"Are you okay?' he asks after a few minutes of silence. "I'm not like a touchy-feely guy. Unless there's boobs around that need to be touchy-feeled, but you look like... you don't look happy."

"I'm not happy," you sigh. "Did you go to high school with Brittany?"

"Pierce?" he asks, "Totally. I tried to tap that a few times, but she likes - well you know."

"Why would I know?" you asks as he pulls into the apartment complex.

He turns toward your apartment, "Aren't you two dating?"

You don't answer. You just throw open the door to the truck. He slams on the breaks right before you get out so your foot lands on solid, unmoving ground.

"I'm sorry!" he calls right before you slam the door. "I didn't mean to offend you or whatever."

You ignore him and march up to your apartment. You pull your apartment key out of your bra where it and your ID are safely tucked. You curse when you remember that your credit card is still at the bar. You bet that when you check tomorrow, Quinn will have been nice enough to order a few five hundred dollar bottles of champagne.

You shut the door behind you and walk into your room, stripping off your dress as you walk. Now that you're alone your emotional walls come down. The levy that you used to hold back your tears breaks and you fall onto the bed. You don't sob. You just quietly cry, grasping onto your pillow.

You have no idea how long you've been crying, but your eyes hurt almost too bad to open them when you hear your front door open. You didn't remember to lock it behind you. You watch a shadow move to your bedroom door before you see Brittany standing there.

Seeing her there just brings all the feelings to the surface. You feel your eyes glaze of with tears and everything goes blurry. You can see Brittany move to the bed and feel her arms encircle you. She lays down, facing you. One of her arms tucks itself under your head and the other holds you across your back.

"What's wrong Santana?" Brittany asks you. You hear her voice shake when she asks you.

You can't answer even if you wanted to. Your voice won't work. You just shake your head against her chest.

"Finn said he saw you and Quinn arguing then you walked out the back door," Brittany quietly adds.

You just lay there in her arms. You have to tell her sooner or later. You might as well now. You're half naked, crying, and you must look like a wreck. You manage to get your voice to make noise, but it's scratchy and quiet. "She's right."

"Who's right?" Brittany ducks her head and pressed her forehead to the top of your head.

"Quinn," you sigh and close your eyes. You get tingles in your spine feeling Brittany so close to you. In such a way that if you tilted your head up, your lips would meet hers. The thought alone makes your stomach drop.

Brittany pushes your hair away from your forehead. You feel her lips press to your forehead and squeeze your eyes shut. She doesn't pull away very far when she asks what Quinn said.

You try to make yourself stop crying. You try to bottle up your emotions in case this doesn't end well. You sniffle, "I'm your consolation prize."

There's silence for a moment. Then Brittany's hand stops moving against the skin of your back. "What does that mean?"

You can't have her holding you when you say what you're about to say, so you push up off of the bed and pivot so that your feet are on the floor. You face away from her so you won't know by how her body moves, or her muscles tense what her reaction is. You want her to have time to gently formulate what she says without you knowing if it's a lie. You've never been this vulnerable to anyone in your entire life.

You drop your head in your hands and take a deep breath in. With your exhale you say, "I fell in love with you and Quinn said I'm your consolation prize."

The longest silence of your life extends from your confession. Then you hear Brittany speak. Her voice is almost a whisper. "Tell me again."

You turn toward her to see if you can gauge some kind of reaction. There are tears in her eyes and you panic. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Just tell me again," she asks sternly.

You hold her watery eyes as you say "I'm in love with you."

You barely have time to blink before you feel her lips on yours. Her hands tangle in your hair as you kiss her back. You push up off of the bed and onto your knees. Now that you're kissing her you can't get enough. You feel her pushing back against you. Since she's taller, she has the advantage and you feel yourself being pushed onto you back.

You move your hands down the sides of her body and pull her hips down toward you. Then you remember that she's wearing your dress. You feel for the zipper on the side and unzip it.

Before you can get the dress off, she kisses your neck. You inhale sharply as her mouth works its way around your neck. After clinging to the dress, just absorbing the kisses, you finally yank it off of Brittany. As soon as your hands get onto her skin, she moans into your neck.

She reaches down and grasps onto the outside of your knee before running her hand up your leg, over your hip, and across your ribs before running her thumb barely under the bottom border of your bed. You nearly orgasm on the spot and it was barely a brush of your breast.

"Santana," she says against your neck, her breath moving in waves across your neck. She pushes her body away from yours, hovering over you.

You know exactly what she's going to ask so you take her face in your hands and kiss her again. You break only long enough to say, "Yes, I'm sure."

She looks over your face from your eyes to your lips with a fading smile. She bites her bottom lip, watching you. You smile up at her, content in knowing that your feelings are reciprocated.

"Are you gonna kiss me again?" you ask playfully and push your fingers into her hair, keeping it away from her face.

Brittany nods with a shy smile on her face. She lowers her head and her lips touch yours so gently that you push up against her, deepening the kiss. She pushes back up, but you keep going after her, wrapping your arms around her neck so she's pulling you up with her. You can feel her smile against your lips and that makes you smile.

She finally gives in to what you want and lowers you back down on the bed. She even takes it a step farther and pushes you back into the mattress. You can feel her whole body pressed up against yours and it's the most erotic thing you've ever felt.


	9. Chapter 9: Heaven by The Walkmen

Your first sexual experience with a woman is the best sexual experience of your life. You don't think you were all that fantastic because it was your first time, but Brittany was helpful and very sweet.

"You're very flexible," you murmur into her shoulder before you kiss it.

Brittany giggles, "I think you're a natural."

You look at her and push her wild blonde hair away from her face, "I wasn't terrible?"

"No," she gives you a sweet kiss on your lips. "You were fantastic. I've never..." She licks her lips. "I've never felt like that before."

Something about the way she says that makes you want to do it again. You want her to feel amazing all the time.

But before you can you can hear a phone ringing and it is definitely not yours. Brittany doesn't make a move to get it immediately. She keeps her arms around you, but you know she should probably answer it in case it's her mom or Summer. You tilt your head up to look at her. "You should probably get that."

She smiles and kisses you quickly before rolling over to grab her phone. She glances at the screen and answers it. "Hello?...hey Rachel....yeah I found her....yeah she's fine....I'm fine too...." Brittany puts her head on your pillow and glances over at you. You scoot closer to her and put your arm around her bare waist. "No, I don't think we're going to come back." You move yourself up the bed so that you can kiss her neck. You're not doing anything, but pressing your lips to her neck, but she pushes her fingers into your hair and clenches her fist. You may have only been having sex with Brittany for an hour, but you know that that means she's turned on.

"Rach, can I call you tomorrow?.... yes.... bye," Brittany hangs up and tosses her phone.

You have another go at it and this time you feel like you did considerably better because when you're done, Brittany is still laying on her back, panting.

You have a huge grin on your face when you kiss her cheek. "I told you I was a quick learner."

She chuckles and pulls you down by the back of your neck into a kiss. "You are." She kisses you again and looks up at you. Her blue eyes are honest and genuine when she tells you, "I love you Santana."

You allow that to sink in for a moment before you reply. "I love you too Brittany." You kiss her again and then one last time for good measure before she gets up.

"How did you get here?" Brittany asks, looking around your room for the clothes that she came over in this afternoon.

"I was walking until Puck picked me up," you get out of the bed and grab Brittany's clothes out of the top drawer where you put them after she changed into one of your dresses.

Brittany takes them from you and pulls on her jeans. "You know Puck?"

"Not until he picked me up off of the side of the road," you open another drawer and grab a tank top. You pull it on. "Which is not as bad as it sounds."

Brittany puts her bra back on and laughs, "I hope not. Did he hit on you?"

"I don't think so," you grab some underwear and pull them on. "He thought we were together already."

Brittany looks around your room then steps into your bathroom. She uses your brush to fix her hair. You tell her where the hair ties are and she grabs one, putting her hair up. "It's a small town. I'm not surprised."

"Well I can tell him that now that we are," you ran a hand through your hair and grab some jeans out of your dirty clothes. They weren't that dirty. "Can you give me a ride back to the club to get my credit card?"

"Totally," Brittany nods, and stops you at the bedroom door. She put her hands on your hips and kisses you.

On the way out to her car, Brittany reaches back and takes your hand. Your fingers thread together and now it feels real. This moment, when you're walking outside with her, you know that this is real. You smile to yourself and look down, letting your hair fall around your face. You're happy. You're not happy with a 'but'. You're not almost happy or sorta happy. You're happy.

You run into the club to get your credit card and the party is still raging. Rachel stops you as you're waking out. "So," she grins. "how are you and Brittany?" You can tell she's a little drunk, but she still seems lucid enough to know what's going on.

"You ready to go?" you ask her, putting your arm around her. "Britt and I can take you home."

She agrees to go and when she gets into the backseat she asks, "You two left me here to do the nasty didn't you?"

Brittany turns on her car and glances at you. You both share a special smile. Then she talks to Rachel through the rearview mirror. "We did."

"That's not nice," Rachel says, but then giggles.

The backseat door opens just as Brittany puts the car into drive. It's dark outside, but the dome light comes on and temporarily blinds you. When you turn around, you see Quinn sitting down in the backseat. She closes the door and puts her seatbelt on, "I've been drinking too much to drive."

You look over at Brittany who doesn't say anything. She just pulls out of her parking place and pulls onto the road. Her face is unreadable as she merges into traffic.

"Why are you even here?" Rachel drunkenly asks the blonde next to her.

"I've been drinking too much to drive," Quinn repeats herself with a huff.

You hear Rachel scoff, "Then call a cab. You just like starting drama."

"You're drunk Rachel," Quinn replies.

"You're a bitch Quinn," Rachel mocks her.

You can see that this conversation is making Brittany tense so you turn around in your seat. "Hey, can you both chill please?"

Rachel rolls her eyes and leans on the door, crossing her legs away from Quinn.

Quinn doesn't go down so easily. She narrows her eyes at you. "Why are you even here?"

You don't even attempt to answer that. You just lean back in your seat and take a deep breath. You don't want to have pull Quinn out of the car and whip her ass.

"She's here because someone had to kiss Brittany to wake her up from your evil curse," Rachel spat.

There was a long silence in the car before Quinn asks, "Are you two together?"

"Oh my god," Rachel groans loudly, "How dense are you? Where do you think they've been for the past three hours?"

"Rachel please stop talking," you ask because you can hear Brittany sighing from behind the wheel.

When Brittany pulls to a stop at a red light the back door opens and the interior light comes on. You look back as the backseat door closes and Quinn starts walking down the street. You open your door and ran after her because you're the closest. "Quinn stop."

She's walking down the street on the sidewalk of a residential street. She just crosses her arms and keeps going. You're glad you put your sneakers on and ran over to her. You step in front of her and she stops.

"Quinn what's wrong?" you ask her, even though you know you shouldn't care. She's been nothing but an irritant to you. But she's crying and Brittany has turned down the road to follow you both. You don't want Brittany to be upset anymore than she already is.

"Why do you care so much who Brittany is dating?" you ask her, "You don't want to date her." You pause and lick your lips, "Do you?"

"No, I..." Quinn shook her head. "I know that Brittany and I are not going to happen and I shouldn't care, but... There's not exactly a line of people waiting to date me and I always thought that if all of this doesn't work out and I'm... alone that I'd always have Brittany to come back to."

You frown at the thought of Brittany being anyone's consolation prize, but yelling at Quinn will not get you home any faster so you shift your weight. "She'll always be your friend. I'm not trying to take her away from you. In fact, if you ever move back to Lima you have not only Brittany, but me too okay?"

Quinn looks at the ground and nods. Then she eyes you, "Why are you being so nice to me?" She sniffles and wipes her eyes with the sleeve of her cardigan.

You shrug. "I just had a lot of sex. I'm still kinda delirious. I may be dehydrated. Just go with it."

She cracks a smile and for the first time you don't hate this woman. She lets you usher her to the waiting car at the curb where Brittany was just getting out. You open the back passenger door for Quinn and close it behind her. Brittany looks at you questioningly over the top of your car and you just smile at her and blow a kiss.

After you drop Quinn at her hotel and Brittany walks Rachel to the front door of her dads' house. Brittany parks her car in front of your apartment.

"Are you picking up Summer up tonight?" you ask, not moving to get out of the car.

Brittany shakes her head. "She's already in bed."

"Do you want to..." you smile at her in the light of the electric clock on the dashboard. "Come inside."

"Actually," she puts the car in drive again and pulls away from your apartment.

"Are you kidnapping me?" you ask with a smile.

"That's the plan," Brittany grins. She takes your hand and threads her fingers through yours.

When she pulls up to her house and parks in the driveway, you look at her. She gives you a sweet smile and a light kiss. "C'mon."

You follow her into the house that where you always felt more comfortable than anywhere else in Lima. Brittany instructs you to start a file in the cool house  while she disappears down the hallway.

When you're done, you sit down on the couch and watch the fire. You're just waiting for Brittany to come get you. You're about to go get some water when she reappears. She walks over to where you're sitting on the couch and offers you her hands.

You take her hands and let her pull you to your feet. She smiles as she kisses you and then holds you in her arms. "Santana?"

"Hmm?" you ask, resting your head on her shoulder.

"Will you dance with me?" the question is so simple and so easy for you to answer.

So when you say yes, she leads you into the dance studio. It's dark inside except for some candles that she lit. It's beautiful against the wooden floors and the flames against the mirrors. She presses play on the small CD player in the corner.

The music is soft and jazzy. Brittany offers her hand to you and you put your hand in hers. She pulls you to her, holding your hand next to her shoulder and her other hand snakes around to the small of your back.

You take a step closer to her and your free hand goes up to the back of her neck. You rest your cheek against Brittany's as you both sway to the music. Dancing with Brittany has always been very emotional for you and it's always been like sex and this time is no different. But this time, it's not just sex. This dance is making love with Brittany in the candlelight.

When she kisses you, you're completely swept up in it. Then you feel your back press against the cold of the mirror. You gasp into Brittany's mouth when she doesn't break the kiss and dips down, her hands hooking around the back of your knees and pulling up. She pushes her forehead against yours and you can feel her smile against your lips as you struggle to keep kissing her.

She wraps your legs around her waist and then pushes her hands back up, the friction against your skin makes you shiver. Her hands push all the way up your legs until they're cupping your ass. When she grips your ass you inhale sharply and arch your back, grinding into her.

She uses her body to pin you to the mirror and moves her hands from your ass, around your waist and under your shirt, pushing it up as her hands ascend. Your bra doesn't discourage her because her fingers just dive in under. "Fuck," you groan as her strong hands cup both of your breasts. Her lips trail up your neck, nipping at your jaw when-

She abruptly pulls away, catching you before you fall. All you can do is blink before she sets you on your feet. She fixes your hair and shakes out her own when you finally hear what she hears. You can hear the slam of the front door and footsteps.

"Mommy!" you hear Summer call. You also hear the voices of adults with her.

Brittany smiles at you. It could be because of the terror on your face. Brittany straightens your bra for you and pulls your shirt down. She gives you a quick peck on the lips and whispers in your ear, "Sorry. We'll finish later."

You nod. "I just need a minute."

She really does look apologetic and squeezes your hand. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," you smile and give her another peck on the lips. "You're just that good."

She chuckles and bows her head shyly. You hear Summer call her again and she shuffles toward the door, waiting for you.

"I'll be right here," you rub your upper arm then run a hand through your hair.

She looks reluctant, but when her mom calls her, she walks out of the room.

You lean back on the mirrored wall and sigh. You were so, so turned on. You've never been cockblocked like this before. No one has ever interrupted you so you've never been left hanging. You take another few deep breaths before you blow out the candles, listening to Brittany ask her mom if everything's okay.

"Summer just wanted to get the book that Santana bought her," Brittany's mom says.

At first you don't remember buying her a book, but you remember giving her money for the book fair. You smile that she says you bought it for her and once all the candles are blown out, you walk out of the room and into the living room.

Brittany and her mom are in the living room so they both see you as soon as you walk in. Brittany's mom's eyes widen and she turns to Brittany with a smile on your face, "Are we interrupting a date?" Her eyes turn back to you.

You're sure you're blushing, but you manage to answer, "Brittany was just showing me how much better of a dancer she is than me." You meet Brittany's eyes and she smiles at you.

Brittany's mom laughs. "She's been doing that to everyone since she could walk."

You almost choke on air. You manage to cover it up with a fake cough and make you way to Summer's room, trying to escape with your lie intact.

When you get to Summer's room, you see her looking through her bookshelf for her book. "Hey Summer."

She turns around with a huge grin on her face. "Santana!" She almost knocks you over with a hug.

"What are you looking for?" you ask her, pushing her hair back.

"I got a book about a girl that wants to be a doctor with the money you gave me," she says excitedly.

Books must have gotten way more expensive since you were little, but it doesn't matter. Summer got what she wanted and that's what matters.

She's back at the bookshelf. You look around and think you spot the book on the nightstand. There's a little girl on the front of the book with an oversized lab coat on it and a stethoscope around her neck. You smile and pick it up. "This one?"

She looks and nods. "Thank you. I got another book too with the money Mommy gave me and then I gave the rest of it to a little boy in my class who didn't have any money."

Summer is everything you wish you could be and who the world needs more of. She looks the book over and then hands it to you. "Will you read it to me?"

"How about you read it to me?" you smile at her.

"Okay," she hops on the bed and you sit next to her. She starts reading and you help her when she struggles. She really enjoys the book and you decide that you need to look into getting her, her own stethoscope and lab coat. Maybe a little microscope. She'd be so cute making cultures with a little incubator. Well, maybe you need to consult with Brittany about the incubator. There are some things that some people just don't want to know are growing in their kitchen sink.

When Summer finishes, you stand up off of the bed. She smiles at you and walks out ahead of you.

In the living room, Brittany and her mom are sitting on the couch. Summer jumps up on the couch between them and presents the book to her grandma. "This is the book Santana got me."

"Did you say thank you?" Brittany's mom asks, "That was very nice of her."

You nod and smile at Summer. "She did. She's very polite."

"Can we go now?" Summer asks, "Grandpa said that we could go to a movie."

"How about you tell Grandpa to wait on the movie because you need to go to sleep?" Brittany fixes Summer's hair from where it got a little out of place when she was squirming on the bed while she read.

Summer pouts, but she still gives you a hug when she and Brittany's mom leave.

Brittany closes and locks the door behind them. When you see her, she looks tired and you know that you both have had a long day.

"C'mon," you step toward her and take her hand. She doesn't even try to resist. You pull her all the way to the bedroom and stand her in front of the bed.

She looks questioningly at you, but you just keep moving. You kiss her again, but this time it's slow and sweet. You want to convey how much you love her through the kiss. Not like the kisses you gave her before. The ones that conveyed how much you want her.

Your fingers move to the bottom of her shirt and pull it up, over her head. There is only a momentary break in kissing her. Your lips find hers again. This time your fingers move lower, unbuttoning her jeans. You tug them down and kneel to help her step out of them.

She guides you into a kiss with her hands on your cheeks. You smile and pull away a enough to whisper against her lips, "Get in bed."

She looks down at you with a sly smile, like she knows what you're thinking. You smile back because you know she doesn't.

She crawls into the bed and pulls the blanket down, displacing her pillows. She's on her knees on the bed, looking expectantly at you.

"Lay down," you instruct and walk to the side of the bed.

She looks at you for a moment before her eyes narrow and she sits back on the bed, "You tricked me."

"You're tired," you pull off your pants and kick them off. You didn't wait for an invitation, but you don't think you can leave her tonight. "So we're going to sleep."

"The fun kind of sleep?" she asks, cheekily.

You roll your eyes and turn off the light, plunging you both into darkness except for the nightlight in the corner. You smile and scoot closer to her. You can't see her yet because your eyes are still adjusting, but you can feel her. Your hands slide across her skin and you can feel her arms make their way around you.

She tugs at your shirt indicating that she wants it off of you. You sit up and take it off, warning her, "No funny business."

She pulls you to her, your legs tangling and her arms all the way around you.

"Nice nightlight," you mention, as you find a comfortable spot.

She chuckles, "That's so Summer isn't scared to come in here and find me if she gets scared at night."

You smile. She's the best mother you've ever heard of. Sometimes she seems too perfect.

It's quiet and you're unsure if she's still awake until you hear her sigh.

"What's up?" you nuzzle your face into her neck.

"I know that you're amazing with Summer, but now that we're...." Brittany's stumbling over her words.

You smile and chastely kiss her neck, "She's the bonus person."

Brittany chuckles, "Yeah. I guess she is."

"I have no reservations about entering into a relationship with you because of Summer," move your right hand up through the dark and gently cup her cheek. Then you move your hand up to play with her hair. "Summer is the coolest kid ever and she actually likes me which something new to me. Kids don't normally like me. Anyway, I love her and I love you and this is going to work."

Brittany kisses your neck and just once, in the sweetest way. She tells you that she loves you and wishes you sweet dreams.

You wake up alone in the bed. You grab a pillow and groan out Brittany's name. She appears in the doorway and tells you that she's making coffee. You just groan and she laughs, telling you that she'll bring you some.

You don't feel like getting up just yet so you lay in bed. You do think of something and grab your phone from the nightstand.

Brittany comes back a few minutes later and you're laying on your stomach, shopping online. She sets a cup of coffee on the nightstand and lays down behind you. She puts her arm around your waist and rests her chin on your back. "What are you looking at?"

"Lab coats," you say, bookmarking the page so you can look elsewhere.

"You wear a kid sized lab coat?" she asks, kissing the middle of your back before sitting up.

You chuckle. "No. I'm looking for one for Summer. She really likes this book that she bought at the book fair about a little girl who wants to be  a doctor. So I thought she'd like a lab coat." You go to a different page and add, "A stethoscope too."

Brittany pulls your phone out of your hands and lays down on top of you. She manages to maneuver you onto your back and kisses you. You can't say you're disappointed. You can see her arms sneak up under your shoulders on the bed. She kisses your jaw and pulls away to look into your eyes. "How'd you get so perfect?"

"I saw an instructional video online," you shrug, like it's not a big deal.

She laughs and kisses you again for a good three minutes before she sits up. "C'mon. I'm taking you to breakfast."

"I don't have any clothes," you hug a pillow and close your eyes.

You feel some clothes plop down on your head, which you sort of expected. You just lay there though in your silent protest that you have to get up and she won't come back to bed.

"Actually, I'm going to take a shower," Brittany calls from the bathroom and you can hear the shower come on.

And just like that you're out of bed and running into the bathroom to help Brittany take a shower.


	10. America by M83

Brittany takes you home so that you can shower (alone so you can actually get clean) and change into some new clothes. She wants to tell Summer about the relationship tonight and she wants you to be there.

As you step out of the shower you get a phone call. It's Rachel. She groans, "How much did I think last night?"

You chuckle. "I don't know. Brittany and I left."

"Oh yeah," Rachel seems offended. "You left to have sex. And you left me alone with Quinn."

You take your towel off of your torso and use it to start drying your hair. "What did you two talk about?"

"We fought until Sam came over again to ask me to dance," Rachel sighs. "I'm so glad you're here so that I don't have to put up with her anymore."

"You may," you drop the towel and walk into your closet to try to find something to wear. "Last night it told her that if things don't work out in New York that she not only has Brittany to come back to, but me as well."

"Were you high?" Rachel's voice raises an octave.

You can't help, but smile. "No. I may have been dehydrated though." 

Rachel laughs and says something about that being too much information. You make some plans to have dinner with her in a few days and hang up so you can finish getting ready.

You suddenly feel really nervous when you get to Brittany and Summer's house. Brittany has a plan that involves pizza and movie night. You grab the pizzas on the way over and knock on the door.

You know that Summer supports your relationship, but you’re still apprehensive about her reaction.

Summer opens the door and gives you a huge smile. "Hi!"

You smile back and accept a hug that she gives you. Then she pulls you inside and closes the door. "We're gonna watch The Incredibles!"

"Yay," you say even though you've never heard of that movie.

"Mommy!" Summer calls, "Santana's here!"

Brittany appears in the doorway of the kitchen and smiles at you. "Hey. I was just putting up all the stuff for the ice cream sundaes for after dinner."

"I can't wait," you smile back. You want to kiss her, but you don't think that's allowed yet. You just awkwardly wave and set the pizzas down on the coffee table.

Summer skips over to the TV and puts the DVD into the player.

"Wait," Brittany says as you sit on the couch. She looks at Summer. "Before we start the movie, Santana and I have something to tell you."

Summer looks at you both and her eyebrows furrow. "What?"

Brittany licks her lips and looks to you. You smile at Summer, wringing your hands. "I'm dating your mom now."

It takes Summer a minute to connect the dots and let it sink in. Then she smiles and runs over to you, hugging you. "Yes!"

You smile and rub her back. "Really?"

She nods and pulls away. "Where did you go on a date?"

That leaves you speechless. You don't really have an answer. You haven't really been out on a real date. That does not sit right with you. You lick your lips and look up at Brittany who sits next to you on the couch. She takes one of Summer's hands. "Well last night we went dancing. And we're going to go out again tomorrow night."

"Can I come?" Summer asks, her eyes bouncing between you both.

Brittany looks questioningly at you, apparently leaving it up to you.

You don't think you could ever answer any way else, "Of course."

"I know where we should go!" Summer gets excited and claps her hands.

You chuckle because she's so cute, "Where are we going?"

"I can't tell you," Summer shakes her head.

You grin and look over at Brittany who is beaming. She kisses your cheek and then kisses Summer's. "Alright. It'll be a surprise for Santana. How about we eat some pizza and get this movie started?"

You all start eating. Summer hops up on the couch when she doesn't like the way you and Brittany are sitting. She stands on the couch between you and takes her mom's arm, putting it around your shoulders. You both laugh, but cuddle together as Summer settles between you.

When the movie is over, you all go make sundaes, and start another movie. This time Summer sits on the floor, eating her sundae over the coffee table. You and Brittany sit together on one end of the couch and enjoy dessert.

It's different now than it was last night. Last night you had sex. You had a lot of sex. And it was nice. But so is this. Sitting on the couch, eating ice cream, and watching a movie with Brittany and Summer is nice. It feels good. It feels all kinds of right.

But when the second movie is over, you help clean up and then you have to go home. You've been neglecting your apartment and you need to do laundry. You also don't know if Brittany would even allow you to stay with Summer home. You don't know the protocol for dating a woman with a child so you're just going to differ to Brittany every time there’s a grey area.

Before you can leave, Summer asks you to take her to bed. You turn on her night light and give her a hug before she crawls onto her bed and covers up with her pink blanket.

When you step into the living room, Brittany is waiting for you. You're drawn right to her and she accepts you into a warm embrace. She wraps her arms around your waist and her head bows. You can feel her lips on your clothed shoulder. She lifts her head up and kisses the side of your head. "Thank you for tonight."

"I had fun," you inch your torso away from her so that you can kiss her on the lips. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow night."

Her face remains serious as she tells you, "It means a lot that you don't mind Summer coming on our date."

You grin and push up on your toes to kiss her again. "I will never mind Summer. Plus, Summer is apparently the best wingman in town."

Brittany laughs quietly and takes a step back. She holds your hand all the way to the door. She looks hesitant to open it, but when she does the cool night air rushes to meet you.

"I'll see you tomorrow," you finally say, knowing that you can't stand in front of the open door forever.

She glances back into the house and leaves the door open, walking you to your car. You both stand by the driver's side door, you with your back to it. She looks down at your swinging hands between you.

You think it's charming before she drops both of your hands and crosses her arms. You look at her and see her glancing sideways as the street. You look over to where she's looking and you see the old man that walks his dog down the street. He's giving you both the stink face and you roll your eyes.

You unfold Brittany's arms and place her hands low on your hips. Then you cross your wrists behind Brittany's head. "I am not worried about what other people think. I'm from Chicago. My first knife fight was in pre-k."

Brittany lightens up at your joke and shakes her head. "St. Mary's was that violent?"

You grin. "Only when the nuns hit me with rulers for talking back."

"I'm sorry," Brittany says quietly. "It's just a habit. Rachel's really the only girl that's never been really afraid to be thought of as dating me."

"I'm not afraid," you shake your head. Your heart feels wounded that people are like that here. That people have been scared to be close to Brittany. You straighten up to kiss her. She seems hesitant at first, but eventually leans into it. You pull away before it can get too hot because even if you don't mind being seen kissing Brittany in public, you don't want to be arrested having sex with her against your car.

"I love you," you tell her. "And I'll have a shirt screen printed tomorrow that says so."

Tears form in the bottom of her eyes. You don't know what to do about it other than kissing her again. You look up into her eyes and feel yourself getting choked up. She apparently sees that and sniffles, wiping her eyes. "Sorry. I just..."

"I'm yours Brittany," you tell her so that she doesn't have to say anything back,. "Proudly so."

She breaks a smile. "Thank you."

With one last kiss, she opens your car door for you and you set off for home.

You can't help, but realize how empty your bed is without Brittany in it. You spend one night with her and suddenly you can't sleep without her. You breathe in and out slowly trying to get yourself to calm down. You need to sleep. You have a date tomorrow with two beautiful blondes.

In the morning you wake up in a panic. You don't know what you're going to wear. You text Brittany and ask her how you should dress. She asks back with, _Isn't it a little early for you to be getting dressed?_

You sigh and basically beg her to tell you. Finally she tells you to dress comfortably. You look through your closet and decide that you have to go buy something to wear. You don't know that comfortable means. Scrubs are comfortable, but you think they're probably not acceptable.

You're in your car driving to the closest mall when you call Rachel. She agrees to meet you there to find you something to wear. Something comfortable. Whatever that means.

You both walk about a department store looking through the racks. "Where do you think we're going?"

"Um, I don't know," Rachel shrugs as she rifles through the racks. "She says comfortable so maybe the amusement park a few towns over or the park in town." Rachel claps, "Oh, there's a carnival in town for Founder's Day. They used to have a circus, but I organized a protest. We sat in the middle of the road until they just left."

You look around the racks, hoping that something just jumps out at you. "Well shit what am I going to wear to a carnival?"

"You will wear jeans that make your ass look amazing," Rachel rounds the rack of clothes toward you. "You can wear a cute shirt that shows a little cleavage, but not too much. And a leather jacket. Sexy, but fun."

"Yes," you nod and look around. "Where are the jeans?"

"You don't have jeans?" Rachel asks. It's a rhetorical question because you're wearing jeans.

You take off in the direction you think the jeans are. "I need new ones." You probably don't need new ones, but you _need_ new ones.

You grab three pairs of jeans and an armful of shirts before ducking into a dressing room while Rachel stands outside. "You know," she says through the door, "I feel like I should let you know that I think this shopping spree is just anxiety over your pending first date with Brittany."

"I know that," you say, buttoning the new jeans. "I'm just going to shop so I don't start drinking." You open the dressing room door and ask. "How do these look?"

You manage to burn three hours shopping before Rachel has to go into work. She tells you to call her after your date and gives you some parting advice. "Don't freak out."

Of course you do the opposite. You pace around your apartment after you get dressed and go through every doomsday scenario in your head. The one that terrifies you most is the one where Summer decides that she doesn't like you anymore.

You're so on edge, that when there's a knock on the door, you almost fall off of your couch.

You take a deep breath and stand up. Before you can get to the door, there's another knock on the door, this one is lighter and lower to the ground. You smile and open the door. You see Summer alone in the doorway. She's looking to the side and you start to look outside, but she stops you. Then she looks you up and down.

"Mommy told me that she didn't know what to wear so she wanted me to see what you're wearing first," Summer grins.

Brittany quickly steps into your view, blushing heavily. "She wasn't supposed to say that either." She's wearing red skinny jeans with a white button down shirt and a black jacket.

"You look great," you smile at her.

"So do you," she smiles back.

"Give her the flowers," Summer instructs.

Brittany looks down at some daisies hanging in her hand. She lifts them up and offers them too you, bashfully smiling.

You take the flowers and smell them. "Thank you."

“So... " Brittany swallows and licks her lips, "Are you ready?"

You run inside to put the daisies in water and grab your purse. You fish out your keys and step outside, closing your door. You lock the door and turn to the girls. They're having a silent conversation and Brittany's shaking her head. Summer puts her hands on her hips and huffs. Brittany raises an eyebrow and Summer giggles.

You just stand there and wait for them to finish. Brittany sees you first and her eyes get wide. You just smile at her and offer her your hand. Brittany gives you a relived smile and takes your hand.

"I love your bag," Brittany mentions as you walk into the parking lot.

"Oh thanks," you look it over, "I wanted to get it in dark brown, but they were out. I need one to go with the boots I bought today."

"I think I have one that might match," Brittany says, opening the passenger door for you then she opens the door behind yours for Summer. "You can borrow it whenever. I've been carrying my black one."

You give her a peck on the lips before you sit into the car. There are so many perks to dating a woman that you never thought about. You hope she wears the same size shoe are you.

You smile when you see all the signs for the Founder's Day Fair and everyone parking in the big field next to the park where everything is set up. You're glad Rachel told you this was going on. It gave you some kind of heads up.

You smile when Summer takes your hand to cross the rows of cars. Of course the first thing she wants to do is the fastest ride in sight. She pulls you into the line while Brittany waits for you both, watching over the metal gate.

Brittany takes a picture of you both as you're waiting for the ride to start. Of course when it does, you are probably way more scared than Summer. You can finally breathe again when it's over and Summer asks you if you're okay.

Brittany chuckles when you walk up to her and ask she asks if you're okay as well. You force a smile and say that was fun.

"Do you like amusement parks?" Brittany asks as you walk toward all the food stands.

You shrug, "I've never been to one."

Brittany doesn't say anything at first. Then she asks incredulously, "Are you serious?"

"You've never been on a roller coaster?" Summer asks with a serious look on her face.

You shake your head. "I've been to carnivals," in France. "And some ferris wheels." A large ferris wheel called the London Eye. You didn't spend your vacations in the country when you were a kid and your undergrad vacations were beaches. There have been no vacations since you started medical school. "Oh, and ski lifts."

Brittany smiles at you and shakes her head. "I guess that means we have to take you to one."

"Yes!" Summer jumps up in the air and skips to the line in front of the nacho stand.

As you're waiting you see a pair of familiar faces walk up to you. Rachel is walking over to you with Sam. His arm is around her shoulders, but she walks out from under his arm to hug you, Brittany, and Summer. "Fancy meeting you here."

You share a knowing smile with Rachel. You know she came to check on your date after she got off of work while maybe having a date of her own. She looks over your outfit. "You didn't go with the dark boots?"

"They didn't match my purse," you glance down at your other boots. They're a few years old, but they've always worked out for you. You picked them because Rachel was sure that you were going to the fair today and they don't have much of a heel.

"Oh right," Rachel moves back to Sam, "I knew we forgot something."

He puts his arm back around her and asks, "How are you ladies?"

"I think Santana's had enough rides for one night," Brittany teases you, poking you in the ribs.

"But we only rode one," Summer looks up at you and frowns.

You hear Rachel, Sam, and Brittany laugh before you tell Summer that her mom was just kidding.

Rachel and Sam hop into line with you and grab some food. You all eat together before they take off toward the band that's playing on the far side of the fair.

You and Brittany watch Summer play some games. Brittany wins Summer a stuffed puppy that she immediately gives to you and tells her mom that she's supposed to give it to her date.

You kneel down and ask Summer if she's sure she doesn't want to have it. She smiles at you and says that you can have it. "Well how about you name it for me?"

"Hmmm," she taps her chin. "How about Cupcake?"

"Alright," you smile. "What do you want to play now?"

You play the game where you try to get the ring around the bottles. You get a whole bucket and the three of you start throwing. All three of you claim that you were the ones that hit the ring in the middle of the game that wins the giant panda bear, but it doesn't matter because Summer is the one that gets to keep it. It's bigger than she is so Brittany ends up carrying it on her back to the last ride of the night.

You sit on the horse on the outer row on the carousel and Summer sits in the middle one. Brittany and the giant panda ride on the inside. You take a picture on your phone of Brittany and the giant panda sharing a horse. You also take a picture of Summer pretending to be a cowgirl.

It's been a long night and as soon as Summer gets into the car, she passes out on the giant panda. You look at the stuffed puppy in your lap and ruffle it's hair. "Has Summer ever had a puppy?"

"No," Brittany says. "And the answer to your next question is no."

You chuckle in the dark of the car. "How did you know what I was going to ask?"

"Because you enjoy spoiling my kid," you can see Brittany smiling in the glow of the dashboard.

You reach across the armrest and take her hand that's not on the steering wheel. You thread your fingers through hers. She gently squeezes your hand. "Thank you for coming."

You take her hand in both of your hands and kiss her knuckles. "Thank you for inviting me. This is definitely the most fun date I've ever been on."

"Do you want to come over for a little while?" Brittany asks softly at the stoplight where she's had to turn right to go toward your apartment and left to go to her house.

"Of course," you run your fingers over the back of her hand.

She turns left and soon you're pulling up to her street. As she turns into the driveway, the headlights light up someone sitting on the porch.

"I thought she left town," you say, checking the backseat to make sure Summer is still asleep.

"Me too," Brittany puts the car in park. "Can you go put Summer in bed?"

You nod, knowing that Brittany has some business to take care of.

Quinn stands up as you and Brittany near. When you walk past Quinn her looks away from you. You thought that your talk with her would keep her away. Or at least now showing up in the middle of the night.

You tuck the stuffed puppy under Summer's arm so that you can unlock the front door with one hand. When you push the front door open, you hear Brittany say, "Hey Quinn."

You take a deep breath as you close the door behind you. It would make sense, the way your life is going that as soon as you find someone that makes you happy, the woman she was in love with decides that she wants to be part of the picture.

You turn on the nightlight with your foot and pull back the blankets on Summer's bed as you sit down. You lay her down and take her shoes off. Then you pull the blanket up over her shoulders. She still has the puppy under her arm. She looks so cute. You kiss her head and whisper, "Goodnight Summer."

Then you move back to the living room. You want to know what's going on, but you don't want to intrude. You look around and see some toys on the floor. You start picking them up and putting them in the toy bin before you fold the throw on the couch and start a fire.

You want to text Rachel about what's going on, but you realize you don't have your phone. It's still in the car. What a serendipitous reason to hear some of the conversation happening on the front porch.

You open the door and both of the blondes look at you. You mumble a sorry and tell them that your purse is still in the car.

You quietly pass them both and down the stairs to get to the car.

Quinn whispers, but you can still hear her, "Why not?"

"You know why not," Brittany says quietly back. "I can't do that to me, to you, or to Summer. You don't really want to be with me. You're just scared that I'm not going to be here for you anymore."

”You don't know that," Quinn says back. You can hear it in her voice that she's been crying. The gentle husk and scratch that so vulnerable, but manages to still be sexy.  

Your heart sinks. You don't know what's going to come out of this. Brittany loved Quinn first. You grab your purse and try not to think about it. You walk past them again and into the house, closing the door behind you. You drop your purse by the door. You leave your phone there. You don’t want to text Rachel anymore.

You sit on the couch, and run a hand through your hair. There's nothing you can do now. You just sit there and stare at the fire, holding a couch pillow in your arms.

The front door opening wakes your from your trance. Brittany walks in. You start to ask her how it went when you see Quinn walk in behind her. Your stomach drops and your heart breaks. So this is it. Where you get kicked to the curb.

But something seems off. Quinn seems really curled up in herself, her arms crossed tightly in front of her. Her eyes are puffy and pink from tears.

"Quinn's going to sleep on the couch tonight," Brittany tells you. Her voice is even and she seems really tired. She offers you her hand and she pulls you up off of the couch. She keeps hold of your hand as she pulls you back to her bedroom.

She stops in front of the bed and rests her hands on your waist. "Can you stay tonight?" her voice is low and something tells you that she's asking because she needs you to stay.

You nod and take her face in your hands, guiding her down for a kiss. "Are you okay?"

She nods. "I'm going to go get her a pillow and some blankets." She kisses you and walks out of the bedroom.

You feel relieved that she asked you to stay the night. It’s not only a good sign, it’s a great one. You sit down on the bed and unzip your boots, kicking them off next to the bed. You don't remember where Brittany keeps her pajamas so you wait on the bed for her to get back. 

When she returns, she walks over to the bed and sits down next to you. "Are you okay?"

You automatically nod. You don’t see how you can not be okay right now. You thought the worst and you thought totally wrong. "Where are your sleeping clothes?"

She starts to get up, but you keep her sitting there. You kiss her. "Just tell me where."

She points it out and you grab two shirts and two pairs of shorts out of the drawers she indicated. She's already kicked off her boots and they're sitting right next to yours. You stop her from standing again and stand in front of her, unbuttoning her shirt.

She smiles up at you with the most loving gaze you've ever seen. It warms your chest. When you get her shirt off, you have her stand so that you can get her pants off. When you stand up, you run your hands up her legs and to her back. You run your hands from the small of her back up to her shoulder blades. She locks her arms around your neck.

You kiss her shoulder, "You're tired and we have to go to work tomorrow. Let's go to bed."

She nods, but doesn't make a move. "Were you worried? About Quinn?"

You take a deep breath, knowing exactly what she’s talking about and that you can't lie to her. You nod slowly.

"Don't," she leans back to catch your eyes. "Don't worry."

"You loved her first," you feel the words escape your lips like wisps of smoke before you can stop it.

"But I love you now," Brittany dips her head down and kisses you. It's slow and it's sensual. You know that she means it. She means this kiss and she means that she loves you.

She helps you change and then you both get into bed. She turns off the light, plunging you into darkness. Something seems off and after a second it clicks. You slide out of the bed and flip on the nightlight on the wall.

Brittany chuckles and envelopes you in her arms as soon as you get back into the bed. She kisses your forehead and wishes you sweet dreams. As you're laying in Brittany's arm, you don't know how you could have anything else.


	11. Thinking Too Much by Meiko

There's a small tug on your arm that wakes you up. You slowly open your eyes and see Summer standing, sleepily in front of you. You push up off of the bed and push your hair out of your face, "You okay?"

 

She nods sleepily. "I had a bad dream."

You slip out of the bed and let Summer crawl in. She cuddles into her mom and you lie back down in the bed. Of course you can't go to sleep. You roll over once before you decide to get out of bed so you don't wake them up.

 

When you get into the kitchen, you glance at the clock and see that it's almost six thirty. You needed to get up anyway. You have some scrubs in your office so you can just change there. You don't know what time Brittany and Summer usually get up so you start some coffee before you look around for something to make them for breakfast.

You close the refrigerator and see something out of the corner of your eye. Quinn is standing in the doorway. You don't know if you can really look at her this early in the morning. So you don't. You close the refrigerator and turn your back to her, looking in the pantry.

"Santana, I -" Quinn quietly addresses you. You keep your back to her. "I walked here last night and I'll show you where to get the Brittany's favorite breakfast tacos if you drive me to the airport."

"You're leaving?" you ask.

Quinn looks at the ground and nods, "Brittany asked me to leave until I figure some things out."

Since Brittany asked her to leave, you decide that you will take her to the airport.

You find Brittany's keys and grab your purse. The drive to the airport is silent except for when Quinn points out the place where Brittany likes the breakfast tacos.

When you pull to a stop, Quinn hesitates before getting out. "I - I'm sorry Santana. I'm glad she has you." Her face is depressed and hollow. She doesn't even look at you as she gets out and disappears into the airport.

You stop to get breakfast tacos on the way back to the house. When you open the door, you see Brittany standing in the kitchen, drinking some coffee.

"You didn't have to get breakfast," Brittany says, smiling at you.

"Well Quinn needed a ride to the airport," you watch her carefully after you say that.

She doesn't look surprised. In fact you think she looks a little relieved. "Thank you." She gives you a kiss and keeps her arm around your waist. "Did Summer wake you up?"

"Yeah, but it's no big deal," you shrug and rest your head on her shoulder. "I needed to get up anyway."

"Do you need me to take you home to get dressed?" she asks, leaning you both back on the counter.

You shake your head, "I have scrubs at my office. Do you need me to do anything?"

Brittany smiles at you and gives you a kiss. "Not right now. I'm going to go wake up Summer."

You nod and watch Brittany disappear into the bedroom. You look around, trying to find something to do. You can't really see anything that needs to be done except setting out the food and pouring Brittany some coffee.

When Summer walks in, she's sleepy, but she smiles at you. Brittany sits down at her spot at the table and you sit next to her. Breakfast is quiet and done quickly. Clean up is easy and as soon as the kitchen is clean, Brittany and Summer go get dressed.

You take the blankets that Quinn slept on to the washing machine in the back room of the house. They may not be super dirty, but as soon as you cleanse this house of Quinn, the better.

The girls are ready right after you start the laundry and you throw your jeans from yesterday back on so that you can look decent walking into the admin building.

Brittany drops you off, giving you a kiss and wishing you a good day. You hop out of the car and manage to get into your office before anyone sees you. You quickly change and open your door so that people can come in if they need you.

The first person to walk through your door is the superintendent. "Good morning Dr. Lopez."

"Good morning," you look up from your desk. "What can I do for you?"

"I know that the assembly last week was cancelled because of the stink bomb that was set off in the gym, so can I get you to make your presentation today at the make-up assembly?" he asks.

You really don't want to, but you told him that you would. "Yeah, I still have the PowerPoint."

"Good," he nods. "It starts at two in the high school gym."

"Oh," you grab the flash drive off of your desk, "Can you look it over to see if it's too graphic?" You did put a few pictures on there and you're not sure if they're okay. You don't know anyone that you can show as a test subject. You hang out with a kindergarten teacher, a little girl, and a restaurant hostess.

"Sure," he smiles as you and accepts it from you. "I'll go look at it right now." He taps it against his hand and walks out the door.

You open up your email to answer whatever questions the teachers send you. They have access to your email for whatever reason and most of them use it as their own personal web doctor.

A few minutes later, the superintendent walks in. He looks a little pale and he swallows as he stands in front of your desk. "I'd, uh, change the picture of the gonorrhea."

You fight to contain a smile. He got sick looking at your STD slideshow. You plug it into your computer and open it up. "Okay."

"Thanks," he nods and quickly walks out.

You drop your head on your desk and silently chuckle to yourself. He walks around like the boss guy in charge, but show him a few pictures of a diseased penis and he yaks everywhere. You change the picture to something less graphic and save it.

You find your thoughts drifting to a certain blonde kindergarten teacher after a while. You wonder what she's doing for lunch. It's getting sad how much of your brain she takes up. You send her a text and ask her what she's doing for lunch.

She doesn't answer before you start making your rounds to the schools so you just figure that she's busy. When you walk into the middle school, she tells you that she'll be decorating her classroom at lunch, but you're welcome to come watch. You smile and tell her that you'll bring her lunch.

You grab some sandwiches from the deli down the street and walk into her classroom right after her lunch starts. You're happy to find that the room is empty except for Brittany. You hold up her drink and the bag that has the sandwiches in it when she looks at you.

"Hey," she smiles and accepts her food. "Thanks for this."

You lean on one of the counters and take a sip of your drink. She takes a bite of her sandwich and then starts working on the stapling a boarder around the ceiling of the room. You move to her desk and lean back, putting your feet up. You'd help, but you have a really great view from here. You take a bite of your sandwich and tilt your head, wondering how you can get her to wear those jeans all the time.

You get caught checking out her ass and she quirks an eyebrow at you. You pretend like whatever you were doing is innocent. "Um, I was trying to figure out what brand your jeans are."

"Oh yeah right," she playfully rolls her eyes. She scoots her chair over and then stands back up on it. "How is your day going?"

"It's okay," you shrug, "I made the superintendent puke with the slideshow about STDs I'm giving at the high school at two."

"Well I'm sorry I'm going to miss that," Brittany glances over her shoulder at you.

"Oh yeah," you nod. "It'll be great. It's a work of art."

She laughs and smoothes out the border before stapling it to the wall.  As she's stapling someone walks in the door. You sit up straight behind her desk as Tina walks in. "Hey Brittany." She apparently doesn't see you because she's only talking to Brittany.

"Hey," Brittany smiles, but it falls off of her face when she sees how distraught Tina is. "What's up?"

"Can I borrow your car?" Tina asks, "My brother borrowed mine and he was in an accident."

Before Brittany can answer your phone chirps. It's the special chirp that you set for when the hospital needs you. You check it and see that they're calling you in for a broken arm from a car accident. You stand up. "I'll take you."

"Is it about my brother?" Tina asks.

"I think so. He broke his arm," you shake your head. Tina runs down the hallway to get her purse. You start to clean up your lunch mess, but Brittany tells you that she's got it.

You start to walk out the door, but she stops you. "Hey."

You poke your head back into the room, "Hmm?"

"You look hot in scrubs," Brittany grins and shoots you a wink.

You smile back at her. "You're hot all the time."

She blows you a kiss and you turn around as Tina walks up to you.

At the hospital, you find that it is in fact Tina's brother with the broken arm. You look over the x-rays and decide the course of action. It doesn't take you long to set the bone and put the cast on. He's got a few cuts on his forehead and some of them have stitches but other than that he's fine.

You finish just in time to run back to the high school for the assembly. You feel as if the presentation goes as well as a presentation about STDs can go. The kids sort of give you some kind of applause at the end, but you don't care. You're done. You're ready to delete the stupid slideshow and be done with it. He passed the initiative you wanted passed. You did his dumb presentation. You're square and it's over.

You rest your head on the desk and suppress a yawn. It has been a long, long day. You just want to curl up with Brittany and Summer and watch a movie. You smile at yourself. Kids have never, ever been in the picture for you, but now there's Summer and she's the coolest kid you've ever met.

You let your eyes slip closed for a moment, but just as you do your phone rings. You don't even look when you answer it. You just blindly press the answer button and leave your head on the desk when you put it to your ear. "Hello?"

"Hi Santana," your mom's voice is crisp and clear over the line.

You sit up automatically. She always bugged you about sitting up straight. "Um, hi mom. What's going on?"

"I am going to be in Dayton for a seminar and I thought I'd come see you this week," she states.

You look down at how you're sitting and slouch in your chair on purpose. Then you put your feet up on your desk. "Yeah sure. Wait when?" You weren't really paying attention to what she said. You just wanted to make sure that you were sitting defiantly enough before you answered.

"I'm going to be in Lima," your mom says.

It's a good thing you were slouching already, otherwise you'd have fallen back into the chair. "Oh, um, yeah cool. We can have lunch or something."

"I was actually hoping to stay with you," your mom adds. "I looked up all the hotels in Lima and none of them break four stars."

"I'm - I," you can't really think of a good excuse. "Okay. Just let me know when you're coming in."

"Wednesday afternoon," she says. "I'll give you a heads up as to when exactly I'll be coming in."

"Okay," you drop your head back down on the desk.

"We can have dinner and you can tell me why you didn't tell your father and me about your new job at the hospital," she states without any accusatory tones. However, you know that she wants to know why you didn't tell her.

But first you have some questions, "How did you know?"

"Your father knows every orthopedist in the Midwest," your mom mentions, "Imagine our surprise when your name gets thrown in."

"It's not a big deal," you sigh.

"It's a huge deal," your mom replies with joy in her voice. "I have to go, but I'll see you Wednesday."

You hang up with your mom a few minutes later after exchanging pleasantries and talking about the weather. When you do hang up you toss your phone into your purse.

You decide that you're done working for the time being so you leave early. You have to go clean and sterilize your apartment so that your mom won't be able to find anything wrong with it. When you're done, it'll be as clean as her operating rooms.

You're about halfway through the kitchen floor when your phone rings. You don't recognize the number, but you answer anyway because it could be one of the hospital's million phone lines.

"Um, Santana?" the unsure female voice asks.

"Yeah," you feel like you know the voice, but don't know where it's from.

"This is Tina," she says and you connect the voice to the person. "I just wanted to thank you for the ride to the hospital and what you did for my brother. The doctors here are really impressed with your work."

"It's no problem," you tell her, but you're smiling from ear to ear. Your first patient over the age of 13 that thanks you. It's a nice feeling. "Just doing my job."

"I know it's your job," she says, "But you did a great job. And with everything you're doing at the school. Thank you so much. Just as a heads up, my brother sent you some flowers."

You chuckle, "That's sweet of him."

"He's really taken with you," she teases.

You laugh harder. "Well, you can tell him that I'm flattered, but taken."

"Taken?" Tina asks, "Like with... Brittany?"

You smile so wide. You can actually say it now. "Yes."

"Awesome!" Tina squeals, "That's so awesome! Oh my god, finally. Oh, oh yeah." She pauses and her voice gets serious. "Brittany's so sweet and she's been through so much in this town. You can't-"

You interrupt her, "Is this the part where you say if I break her heart you'll break my neck?"  

She chuckles, "Yes. And so will a bunch of other people. Even though some people are mean to her here, most people love her."

"Gotcha," you nod. "She's everything I never knew I wanted." You say it because as cliché as it is, it's true.

"Awww," Tina coos. "I have to go, but I'll see you around. Maybe we can have lunch some time."

"Definitely," you agree. You both say goodbye and hang up. Now you have two friends in Lima that aren't Brittany. You're going to count that as a score.

You clean for another hour before another interruption introduces itself. This time it's a knock on your door. You hope it's Brittany and pray that it's not your mom popping in early. You open the door and find the football coach that gave you a ride home that night you were drunk and upset about Brittany and Quinn.

"Hey," you furrow your eyebrows, "What's up?"

"I'm glad this is your apartment," he says, "I just met your neighbors. They're not really happy that I interrupted their soaps."

"What was your name again?" you ask.

"Puck," he nods. "I need your help."

"Doing what?" you ask.

"You're into chicks, but you dress hot so, I need you to tell me how I look," he raises his arms and looks down at what he's wearing.

You finally notice what he's wearing. He's wearing black jeans and a wine red button shirt under a charcoal grey vest. "Where are you going on a date?" 

"We're going to that nice restaurant in the hotel," he says, shifting his weight.

What you've gathered about him is that he's a playboy, but he's not acting like one. He seems really nervous. You look him up and down. "Are you going to wear those shoes?"

"What's wrong with them?" he looks down at his bright blue high tops.

"Are you sixteen?" you ask. "Wear black shoes. Nice shoes."

Puck nods and runs his hand over his mowhawk. "Okay. Um, thanks."

You reach up and tug at the collar of his shirt. "Don't button the top button. It makes you look like a Catholic Priest."

He unbuttons it and rolls his neck, "Okay, how about now?"

You chuckle at how nervous he is. "Who are you going on a date with that you're so nervous?"

He puts his hands in his pockets and kicks at the ground. "She's the wrestling coach."

You don't think you've ever seen her, but you're sure they're perfect for each other. You hear a laugh that you know and step outside of the door. You're almost run over by Summer who jumps at you. You pick her up and give her a hug. "Hey Summer."

"Guess what!" Summer says, putting her little hands on either side of your face.

You raise your eyebrows and ask back just as excitedly, "What!"

"I'm going camping!" Summer squeals.

"Yay!" you say even though you'd never really be all that happy to go camping yourself. But you're happy because she's happy.

You see Brittany walk up behind Summer. Her sunglasses are over her face and her hair is blowing in the slight breeze that always seems to be blowing down the walkway to your apartment. She smiles at you and you smile back, not able to resist.

"Hey Brittany," Puck nods to her and then turns to you. "Thanks for you help."

You nod back to him. "No problem." He walks through the breezeway and around the corner.

You walk inside with Summer in your arms and carefully drop her on the couch. She laughs and asks you to do it again.

"You're friends with Puck now?" Brittany asks, closing your apartment door.

You shrug. "I guess so. I didn't really know we were friends until he showed up at my door asking how he looked."

"He's hitting on you?" Brittany asks, setting her purse down in the small space between the couch and the door.

You shrug again. "I don't think so. He needed help getting dressed for a date. I saved the girl some anguish over his high tops." You tilt your head to the side and put your hands on your hips. You think that you detect jealousy.

Brittany nods and quietly adds, "Okay."

You let it slide this time because she's so cute with her sunglasses holding back her hair on the top of her head like they are. "So, you're going camping?"

She grins and glances down at her daughter. "I got talked into it." She sits down on the couch next to Summer.

"I am so jealous," you look down at them and smile. Brittany's knowing smile means that you know she knows you're being sarcastic.

"Will you come with us?" Summer asks.

You raise an eyebrow. "When are you going?" You pray that it's sometime that your mom is here because you need an excuse.

"When are you free?" Brittany counters. She's sneaky. It seems as if she's going to drag you down with her.

You look back down at Summer who is giving you her best smile. You take a deep breath. "Well my mom is coming to spend the weekend with me this weekend."

"We can go next weekend," Brittany says. You look over at her and she's sporting a devilish grin.

"Pleeeeeeeeeease," Summer begs. Then she starts chanting it over and over and over again. Then Brittany joins in. You finally huff and answer. "Fine."

They both cheer and Summer hugs your waist.

You quirk an eyebrow at Brittany who just grins up at you. It's like she knows that she can get you to do anything in the whole world. You glance at Summer who has picked up your stethoscope, which is perpetually on your coffee table. Then you look back at Brittany and mouth 'you own me.'

Her devilish smirk returns and she taps your leg with her foot. "What do you want?"

You know what she's insinuating and swallow. You just look at her until she giggles.

You clear your throat until you can speak again and ask, "Not that I'm not glad you're here, but to what do I owe the visit?"

She leans her head back on the couch, "You left early so we came over to make sure you weren't sick."

You smile at their kindness. "I'm fine. I just finished early."

"Tina told me what you did today," Brittany takes your hand and pulls you down onto the couch next to her.

"It wasn't a big deal," you shrug, but lean into Brittany.

Brittany puts her arm around you. "It is though. It may not be for you, but it is for us."

A silence lulls over you and Summer starts trying to find her mom's heartbeat with your stethoscope. You wonder where Summer's stethoscope is. You ordered it a few days ago.

"So your mom is coming?' Brittany asks.

You groan and close your eyes. "Yeah. I was cleaning before Tina called me, then Puck came over. I have to clean my apartment because she's staying with me. None of the hotels in Lima live up to her five star standards."

Brittany chuckles. "I can help if you want. But not right now. Tomorrow maybe? I'm going to go sign Summer up for dance right now."

You sit up so that Brittany can get up. Summer pops up at the mention of what they're going to do. You ask Summer if she's excited and she squeals again. You laugh with Brittany and walk them to the door.

"You should call Rachel though," Brittany states, sliding her sunglasses over her eyes and opening the door, "She loves to clean."

"I probably will," you step outside with them and hug Summer goodbye. "Call me if you don't find some plans for dinner. I should probably practice cooking since my mom is coming. I don't know of any five star restaurants in Lima either."

Brittany smiles and teases your dangling fingers with her own. "I'll definitely call you."

She starts to move away, but you tangle your fingers in hers and pull her back to you. You kiss her before she can react and you can feel her smile into it. It's a brief kiss and when you pull away you say, "I won't let you get away that easily."

"I wouldn't want you to," she smiles and takes a step away. This time you let her go. She and Summer walk off and you smile after them before going inside to clean.

You do call Rachel and she happily comes over to help. She even brings her own environmentally friendly, biodegradable, all natural, organic cleaning supplies.

You let Rachel loose on the kitchen and you start dusting the living room.

"How's your dad?" you ask her as you're making weird faces at the amount of dust behind your TV.

"He's doing a lot better," Rachel calls to you from the kitchen. "We even had a best of Broadway sing-a-long the other night." She pauses. "I've missed him playing the piano like that."

You don't know what to say to that so you don't say anything.

"What does your mom do?" Rachel asks.

"She's the Supreme Dictator of the Operating Rooms at the second largest hospital in Chicago," you answer.

"Is that her official title?" Rachel asks, jokingly.

You smirk, "It should be."

"And your dad's an orthopedic specialist like you?" she asks appearing in the kitchen doorway.

"Yup," you toss the dirty rag you were using into the trashcan next to her.

"That's quiet a medical pedigree you have," Rachel leans on the doorway and crosses her arm.

You roll your eyes, "If that's what you want to call it."

"Is your mom going to meet Brittany?" Rachel asks, catching your eyes.

You haven't really thought about it. You tell Rachel that and add, "If she wants to she can. She doesn't have to. We've only technically been on one date."

"But it's serious isn't it?" Rachel asks, dropping her arms and standing up straight.

You start putting the pillows on the couch in place and nod. "Yeah, I guess so."

"What do you mean you guess so?" Rachel starts advancing on you. "It's either serious or it's not!" You totally said the wrong thing because she keeps talking. "You can't just walk around here with Brittany all -"

You cut her off. "Rachel. I didn't mean I guess it's serious." You stop her from advancing on you by putting your hands on her shoulders. "I know it's serious. I know that because of Summer, it gets serious at an exponential rate, but Brittany makes me feel things that I didn't know I could feel. And I love Summer. Seeing her for five minutes will make my day every time. I know it's serious. I'm not leaving them."

Rachel says "Oh" quietly then smiles at you. Then you're almost toppled onto the couch in a hug from the shorter girl. "Why can't I find a guy like you?"

"Because I don't have any brothers," you say and hug her back.

She laughs and apologizes for accusing you of not being serious. You tell her that it's okay. You would have accused yourself too. You both get back to cleaning and about an hour later you're both done with the small apartment.

"You could do surgery in here," Rachel says after packing up all of her cleaning supplies.

You put your arm around her shoulders and look around. "Do you have any bones that need to be fixed?"

Rachel laughs, "No. No thank you."

You ask her if you can buy her dinner or a drink or something, but she politely declines, citing a date with Sam later. You tell her to have a good time and say goodbye.

So you fall down on your couch and flip on the TV. Maybe you'll get a little nap before Brittany calls. Just as your eyes slide closed to the sounds of reality TV, there's a knock on the door. So much for your nap.

You don't feel like getting up so you just call, "It's open."

The door opens a little bit and Brittany sticks her head in. Her face softens and she fully steps in. "Did I wake you up?" She shuts the door behind her and walks over to you with a paper bag in her hand. She sets the bag on the coffee table and sits down on the edge of the couch in front of you.

"Nope," you move so that you're on your back and can see her better. "I wasn't asleep."

"Not yet," Brittany runs her fingers through your hair. She pouts, her bottom lip sticking out a little farther than usual. "I'm sorry."

"Never be sorry for coming to see me," you take both of her hands, your palms against hers. Then you slip your fingers between hers and push your arms above your head, pulling her down on top of you. Your faces are a hair apart when you stop.

She smiles at you and dips her head down, kissing you softly and gently. She pulls up and looks over your face. "You look tired."

"You sure know how to sweet talk a girl," you look up at her with a small smirk.

"I meant that you should probably take that nap you were starting," she kisses you again.

"Where's Summer?" you ask, having noticed that the little ball of sunshine is not in the room.

Brittany disengages one of her hands from yours and uses her thumb to brush against your cheek. "We ran into one of her friends at the dance studio and they're going to play for a little while at her friend's house." She looks at her thumb and presents it to you. "It's an eyelash. Make a wish."

You think about it for a moment, knowing that you're going to because she wants you to. You close your eyes as you wish and gently blow the eyelash away.

"What did you wish for?" she asks you reverently.

"I wished for a swimming pool filled with chocolate pudding," you tell her with a cheeky grin.

She rolls her eyes, "Fine don't tell me."

You pull her down for another kiss. "I wished that that look in your eyes when you look at me never goes away." You're not normally so honest or vulnerable when it comes to your feelings, but everything about Brittany makes you feel safe. Like you can tell her everything and you'll be safe.

She looks at you like that again and you melt. She dips her head down and kisses you hard. Like she's trying to prove that your wish wasn't misplaced.

She cuddles into you and holds you around your waist, her head falling like a feather on your shoulder. You have to restrain all the cliché things that threaten to jump out of your mouth. Like she's the best thing that's ever happen to you. When you look into her eyes you feel safe. You don't know where you'd be without her. She makes you happier than anyone has ever made you.

You find yourself lying with Brittany on the couch, watching some kind of weird reality show. At one point you think you recognize someone on the TV and Brittany chuckles at you. You're squinting and leaning forward.

You lean back on the couch, "Sorry, I though I saw someone I know."

"Old roommate?" she asks, kissing your forehead. You love that she does that for no reason.

"Ex boyfriend," you rest your head against her shoulder and run your thumb over the back of her hand that's resting on your stomach. "But it wasn't him."

There's a long pause while you watch the ridiculousness of the show. Finally Brittany asks, "How many boyfriends have you had?"

You lull your head to the other side to look at her. You lick your lips and think for a moment. "Serious boyfriends?" you ask. She nods and you keep thinking. "None."

"Really? None?" she asks.

You shrug. "Most of them were fun, but nothing serious ever came about." You take a deep breath and think over the string of men that you had no interest in. "There was one guy. He asked me to marry him, but then the ring pop fell into the sand so I didn't want it anymore."

Brittany smiles and presses her forehead to the side of your head. "Who was the most serious?"

You stare up at the ceiling. "Um, Mark I guess. I mean, we actually had plans for the future together. It was mostly because we were going to open up a practice together, specializing in sports injuries and broken bones." You shake your head and look at her, "But it didn't last long. He got extremely jealous when my class rank was an entire percentile above him."

"He doesn't know what he's missing," she gives you a peck on the lips.

You smile and look her over, "What about you? Serious girlfriends."

"Nope," she shakes her head. "I've only been with three people."

"Been with?" you ask, "Like sex?" She nods and you let that sink in. Three people in her whole life. Of course your number isn't that much higher than hers, but it makes sense with her having Summer.

"Mind if I ask who?" you ask her and turn sideways to face her.

"The guy in high school I told you about," she says easily as if it's not a big deal to tell you. "Quinn and you."

"You and Quinn...had sex?" you ask, not wanting to believe it, but knowing it's the truth.

Brittany nods slowly. "We were in high school and she was sleeping over at my house. It happened a few times. She was my first kiss and my first...everything. But she was just experimenting and I was in love with her. Then she went and slept with Puck because she freaked out about what we were doing."

"Oh," you look down. Her jealousy over your friendship with Puck makes sense now. She doesn't want what happened with Quinn to happen with you. You take her hand and tangle your fingers together. "You know I'm not interested in him right? We're just friends."

She blushes at this. You caught her, "Yeah. Totally."

"No," you don't accept that answer. She's saying what you want her to hear. "I'm one million percent serious. I don't want you to have any doubts. I'm so not Quinn. I'm not going to get scared and leave you." You kiss the back of her hand. "I'm fearless remember?"

"Oh yeah," Brittany breaks out in a smile. "Knife fights in Kindergarten. I remember."

You kiss her trying to figure out how to prove to her that you're not Quinn. You rest your hand on the curve of her hip and rest your forehead against hers. "I love you."

Her mouth twitches into a smile. It's a loving smile that makes you feel like you said something so right. She bites her bottom lip and her eyes land on your lips. "Santana, you're amazing."

A smile grows on your face and you deftly slip your hand under her shirt, feeling the warm, soft skin underneath. You quickly move your hand to the middle of her back, under her shirt and forcefully pull her to you. Your lips crash together and you feel her gasp into your mouth.

She starts to move so that she would be on top, but you stop her and move so that you're hovering over her. You slowly pull your lips away from hers and kiss the underside of her jaw, then the curve of her neck. Then you start to pull her shirt up and -

Her phone rings.

She sighs and reaches for her phone. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," you look up at her and try your best to not look severely disappointed.

"It is," she looks at her phone. "I actually thought to myself that we weren't going to be interrupted."

You smile at her and kiss her before she answers the phone. It's a brief conversation, but from Brittany's side you know that it's time to go pick up Summer.

"I'm sorry," she says again and you know that you have to get up off of her so that she can pick up Summer.

"It's okay," you get up and she gets up with you.

She pauses at the door, looking shy and unsure, "Can we come back? Help you figure out what to cook for your mom?"

You nod, "Of course." You have an idea, "How about you get Summer and I'll go to the grocery store and we'll meet back here?"

"Do you want to meet at my house?" she asks, looking around, "Since your place is so clean."

"Oh yeah," you nod, slipping on some of your sneakers, "Good idea."

You walk out into the parking lot with one last kiss and go your separate ways. You can't help, but smile as she waves at you from her car.

 


	12. Through Willows and Streams by Eye Alaska

At the grocery store you are at a loss so you call Brittany and she comes to the grocery store to help. Summer rides in the basket and she asks for cookies. Brittany looks at you like she doesn't want you to get them for Summer, but then you beg with your eyes. Brittany finally gives in and you and Summer high five.

Finally you check out and follow Brittany and Summer back to their house. You park next to the curb and start unloading groceries into her house. She rushes over to help you and Summer even grabs one.

You all get dinner started. Summer is in charge of the salad. She has all the containers and a large bowl on the table. You are in charge of the chicken and Brittany is making sides. She's really good at it and you take as many mental notes as you can.

"Can I just bribe you to come over and cook for her?" you sigh knowing that you'll never remember any of this when the time comes.

"I will if you want me to," she offers easily.

"I might," you kiss her cheek and move back to the chicken. It looks good. It's the recipe Brittany's mom gave her, which she also swears there is no way you can mess it up.

Brittany looks over at you when you've been staring at the chicken, but apparently not seeing it burning. She gently takes the tongs from your hand and turns the chicken over. Luckily, only one of them is slightly burned. Brittany rubs your back with her free hand. "Are you okay?"

You nod. "I'm fine. It's just my mom."

"What's up?" she asks, the hand on your back, settling on your lower back.

You shrug. You don't want to tell her about your worries that your mom will be unhappy with your choice in a significant other. If Brittany wants to meet your mom you're not going to stop them, but you'll be on edge the whole time.

Brittany just nods and kisses the side of your head. "You can tell me if you want. You don't have to."

"My mom just makes me nervous," you sigh. "She's never been like, overly disapproving. That's my dad's job. But... I can tell when she doesn't approve." You feel like this part time ortho job at the hospital made her happy. You're doing something that she approves of, while living somewhere and having a full time job that your dad disapproves of. You just don't know how to explain that to Brittany without sounding like a paranoid, neurotic mess.

Brittany seems to know that you're struggling to say something so she patiently waits.

You finally spit it out at the risk of having her think you're a nut. She just smiles and hugs you. "I understand."

"You do?" you ask, self-consciously.

She holds you against her and you set your head on her shoulder. "Yes. I understand. My mom once told me that no matter how old I get, I'll still be five and eight and thirteen and sixteen and all those other ages. Sometimes you can be sixteen and it's okay."

"And then sometimes I have to grow up and act my age," you finish her sentence for her.

She laughs and kisses your head. "Yes. Sometimes you have to act your age."

"I can be myself around my mom and be okay," you move out of Brittany's embrace and look up at her.

Brittany grins, "Good." She pauses and hands you the tongs, "You should probably get that chicken off the pan too."

You can now hear it sizzling and quickly move to get the chicken out of the pan.

"Can I stop mixing the salad now?" Summer asks, as you set the chicken on the table.

You peer into the salad bowl and smile when you see she's mixed the salad and vegetables together so much that the tomatoes are little more than seeds and skin now. You nod. "Yes, you can stop. Good job."

She grins and hops off of the chair. Summer tells you that she's going to the bathroom and runs off. Brittany takes the sides to the table and looks into the salad bowl. Brittany giggles.

"It's okay," you pull her chair out for her. "I put tomato juice on my salad all the time."

She laughs harder and sits down in her chair. You push her in and lean on the back of Summer's chair waiting for her to come back. When Summer trots in, she jumps into her chair and you push her in.

"Can I have some juice?' Summer asks.

You don't even think about it as you move to the refrigerator and open it, "Apple or orange?"

"Apple," she states and asks Brittany if she can serve the salad.

Brittany says that she can and when you give Summer her juice you have a seat. Summer spills salad all over the place, but you smile and thank her. Brittany looks at you across the table, smiling at you. You smile back and give her a wink.

Dinner tastes great, even the little charred pieces of chicken. You feel like this is something you can do. You'll just be on the phone with Brittany the whole time.

As soon as dinner is over Summer runs to her bedroom to play with her toys. You and Brittany sit at the table.

"What time is your mom arriving Wednesday?" Brittany asks, starting to pluck the stray lettuce off of the table and putting it into the empty salad bowl

"The afternoon I think," you lean back and roll your neck.

"It'll be fine," she moves into Summer's seat and takes your hand. "I promise. I will be here if you need me."

You help clean up and then head home. You don't want to, but you need to. When you get home you find a package on your doorstep. You pick it up and open the door. You think you know what it is and are excited. You unlock the door and walk into your apartment.

You flip on the light and set the box on the coffee table. You see a paper bag that you vaguely remember Brittany carrying. You pick it up and look into it. Your head cocks to the side, then you break out into a smile. She brought you a brownie. You swear there is nothing bad about dating a kindergarten teacher.

When you open up the box, you grin and pull out the little stethoscope with the little lab coat. There's a little cardboard flap on the bottom that you pull up and find the microscope that you added last minute. You weren't going to get it, but then you thought it would be cool to look at some things under the microscope with Summer.

You text Brittany to let her know that you got Summer's stuff. Then you close up the box and set it in the corner. Brittany texts back and tells her that she'll bring Summer over whenever you're ready. Then she tells you that she loves you and wishes you sweet dreams.

You lie down in your bed and easily fall into a deep sleep, only to be woken up by your phone ringing mere hours later. Your eyes don't focus on the screen before you answer. "Hello?"

"Dr. Lopez," a female voice says. "This is Mercedes. Dr. Scott told me to call you. There's a guy here that has bones sticking out of his leg."

You sit up in your bed, suddenly wide awake. "I'll be right there." You throw on some scrubs and run out to your car. You've handled cases like this during your residency. They are always exciting and always high stress. Just the way you like it.

You cruise into the doors of the ER around four fifteen. It's still dark outside and most of the people in the Emergency Room are sleeping on the loved ones that came with them. You trot over to the counter. The girl looks up. "Hi. Dr. Lopez. Right this way."

She takes you to the light box room and shows you the x-rays. You see at least seven broken bones, with his femur snapped in half with one side poking through his skin. You just got chills. "What was he doing?"

The nurse smirks, "He was holding on to a moving truck while he was on a skateboard. The truck stopped and he kept going. Straight off of a bluff."

"Prep him for surgery," you tell her. "I'm going to have to go in there to fix that rib and his femur."

You love this hospital. What this town lacks in things to do, it makes up for in operating rooms. Everything is brand new. There is surround sound for surgeon's music while they're operating. In fact before you walk into the operating room, a nurse asks you for your mp3 player so that she can plug it in.

When you get into the operating room, Mercedes is waiting for you jamming to some Whitney Houston. She's singing really well along with the music. "Your love is my love and my love is your love."

You join in with her and you can tell she's smiling at you from behind her surgical mask. "It would take an eternity to break us and the chain of Amistad couldn't hold us."

You both laugh together and Mercedes compliments your voice. You do the same and step over to the man on the table that's covered in blue paper sheets.

You walk over to the guy and glance at the name on his hospital bracelet. "All right, Mr. Rick Nelson, let's fix your dumb ass."

"That's Rick the Stick?" one of the other nurses asks.

Mercedes laughs, "Yeah. He's lucky because last time he had to be flown out to Dayton."

You hold out your hand and call the number of the scalpel you want. Mercedes uncovers the femur and you can see it protruding from broken skin. "He does this often?"

"At least once a year since middle school," Mercedes answers.

You shake your head. "Damn."

They start recounting all the things that they remember him doing in middle school and then high school. You're only half listening because this bone is not wanting to be mended easily. But your ears perk up when you hear, "So he walked into the Glee club and started picking on Kurt when Brittany told him to leave."

"Brittany Pierce?" you ask, grabbing the surgical drill.

Mercedes nods, "Yeah."

You nod, "Yup." Then you use your foot to kick the stool where you need it and stand on it so you can get a better angle.

"Well she totally told him off," Mercedes states, "It must have been pregnancy hormones. I've never see her that angry. Anyway, as she's letting him have it, he backed up into the captain of the rugby team. They got into a fight in the hallway. Finally they decide to settle it after school, but Rick climbs on top of the school trying to prove he was king of the school. He was standing at the edge yelling some kind of manifesto when the wind blew really hard."

"Then humpty dumpty fell down," the other nurse finished for her.

You all laugh as you push his bone back down into its place and start fastening it with titanium pins.

"How do you now Brittany?" Mercedes asks.

You bend down to make sure that the bone is straight before you start putting the pins in. "We work together. I'm the district doctor."

"Oh," Mercedes nods. "And she works at the elementary school."

"And we're dating," you add because you'll tell everyone you've ever met.

"Really?" Mercedes lets out a grin that you can see from behind her mask.

You nod and start drilling. When you're done with the first pin Mercedes asks, "How'd that happen?"

"Well the first day of work I was looking for somewhere to sit and she told me I looked new and asked me to sit with her," you explain and even as you say it, a smile grows on your face.

"Aww that's cute," Mercedes smiles. "How is Brittany? I haven't gotten to see her in a while because I've been working nights."

"She's great," you grin even wider.

"What about Summer?" Mercedes asks, handing you a pin.

"She's awesome," you look at where your pin is going to go. "She's starting dance soon."

"Oh man, if she dances anything like Brittany, she'll be amazing," the other nurse states.

Mercedes agrees, "Mhmm. That girl can move."

You feel like you're missing out. You've danced with Brittany, but you've never seen her dance. You've become intimately acquainted with Brittany's body and you bet that it can move in ways most people can only image.

Once Rick the Stick's femur is fixed you dive right into his abdomen to fix a shattered rib. It takes about three hours total and you are exhausted when you're done. Mercedes says that she hopes to be in an operating room with you again. You agree and promise to have a best of Whitney playlist for you both to jam to.

When you're finished with all your paperwork, you bet that he's awake so you go to check on him. In Rick's room, he's wake and watching TV. He looks over at you. "Hey. Are you my stripper gram?"

You quirk an eyebrow. "No. I'm your surgeon."

"Oh," he looks you over and you feel dirty just from him looking at you. "Well if I give you fifty bucks -"

"Whatever you're about to say," you hold up your hand, "Just stop. I'm just here to take a look at your new x-rays." You walk over to the end of the bed and open the large envelope attached to the bed. You pull out the x-ray and hold it up to the light. You can't help, but think how awesome you are. The whole thing looks clean and textbook. You put it back. "Try not to be a dumbass anymore."

"It was a bet," he shrugged.

You roll your eyes. You suppose that some people never learn.

By the time you can leave, it's time for you to go to your second job. You stop for some coffee on the way to the administration building and when you get to your office you have a problem not falling asleep in your chair.

You do manage to stay awake all day, but as soon as you get home you pass out. You didn't really mean to sleep all night, but the next time you wake up it's daylight the next day and your phone is ringing. You grab it and answer, "Hello?"

"Hey Santana," your mom says. "I'm about to leave Dayton for Lima."

"Hi mom," you look at the clock on your nightstand. It's almost eight in the morning. "Um, do I need to pick you up or anything?"

"I have a rental so I'm just going to drive," your mom answers, "I just wanted to let you know."

"Call me when you get into town and I'll meet you so you can have the keys to my apartment if you want them," you answer, pushing yourself up on the bed. You need to get dressed.

"That sounds great," your mom answers. "I heard about your surgery last night. The chief of surgery was really impressed."

You walk into the bathroom and look at your hair. You look homeless. You grab a brush to drag through your hair. "How did you know about that?"

"The chief of surgery did his residency with your father," your mom states. "Anyway, I'm going to get on the road. I'll call you later."

"All right mom," you look at yourself in the bathroom mirror. "Drive safely.”

"I love you honey," your mom says gently and motherly.

You tell her that you love her too and hang up. You decide that you have time to jump into the shower before going to work so you turn on the hot water and stretch. You see your phone blink at you from the bathroom counter and you pick it up. You have a few missed texts. They're from Brittany. Last night she asked if you wanted her to bring over some hamburgers her dad made. Then she said that Mercedes texted her and told her that you had worked together. She tells you that she'll text you again in the morning and wishes you sweet dreams.

You smile at your phone and text Brittany back. You apologize for not saying goodnight, but you had fun doing surgery with Mercedes. Then you get into the shower.

When you get to work there's a cup of coffee on your desk with a heart drawn on the paper sleeve. You know who it's from and send Brittany a text that says, "Thanks for the coffee."

You manage to steal away for lunch and surprise a certain kindergarten teacher with her favorite pesto sandwich from the deli downtown. She gives you a hug and you're just about to sit down right as your mom calls you.

"I gotta go," you tell her. "My mom's here."

"Good luck," Brittany grins. "Call me if you need help cooking."

You chuckle. "Keep your phone close."

"Always," she waves to you and you run out the door.

You meet your mom in front of your apartment and she gives you a hug. "Oh look at you. You're so grown up."

"You've said that every time you've seen me since I was six," you smile and look at your mom. She looks exactly as you remember. As disapproving as she is sometimes, your mom has always had warm eyes covered in a sharp gaze.

You open your apartment and let her inside. You follow her and watch her look around.

"This is a nice apartment Santana," your mom says, but you know that your mom has already spotted every damning detail of your apartment.

"How about we go to lunch now?" you ask, hopefully. You'll get her out of your apartment this way.

You take your mom to lunch where you go over the entire surgery that you performed on Rick the Dumbass and then she tells you about her hospital. When lunch is over your drop your mom at your apartment and head back to work.

But you can't hide at work forever and you head home a little early so your mom hasn't rearranged your furniture. When you open the door she's sitting on the couch, watching TV.

You feel a little relieved and drop your purse on the ground by the couch. Your mom eyes you and you pick it up and set it on the coffee table.

You move to sit down and your phone rings. You dig it out of your purse and see that it's just Rachel. You debate on whether or not to answer when the ringing stops. You lean back on the couch and look at the TV. You're just about to ask your mom about what she's been doing when your phone rings again.

You figure it's important so you answer. "Hey," Rachel says when you answer the second time she calls, "I'm supposed to pick up Summer from school. Brittany has a conference thing and I told her I would, but I just got called into work. I really need the money can you pick her up Santana?"

You look over at your mom. You suppose that you're going to have to tell her sooner rather than later. "Yeah sure, Rach."

"Thank you so much Santana," Rachel says, extremely relieved.

You hang up with Rachel and look over at your mom. "I have to go pick up -" She's looking right at you and you take a deep breath. "Mom, I'm dating a woman. She has a child. Her name is Summer and I have to go pick her up from school because our friend got called into work."

Your mom blinks. She just keeps staring at you. Then she blinks again. Finally she opens her mouth. "May I come with you?"

It's your turn to be stunned. You look down at your phone sending a quick text to Brittany asking if your mom can go with you to pick up Summer. Brittany immediately texts back that she trusts your judgment and thanks you for picking Summer up.

"Yeah," you nod to your mom who is patiently waiting. You pick up your keys and walk to the car. On the short drive to the elementary school, it's silent in the car. Your mom doesn't say anything. You pull into your designated parking space that you have at every school.

When you put your car into park, your mom takes that as her cue to speak. "Is it serious?" your mom asks. "Obviously it's some kind of serious because you're picking up her child from school. What does she do?" Your mom pauses and adds, "How long have you been dating?"

"Mom," you look over at her, "Are you freaking out?"

She rapidly blinks a few times. "No. You've just never shown any kind of interest in being in a serious relationship with anyone. I know we're not as close as I'd like, but I didn't even know you were dating anyone."

You take a deep breath. "Mom, I have to go get Summer. You stay here and we'll talk when we get home, okay?"

Your mom nods. "Of course."

You get out and go inside the school. The receptionist smiles at you and you nod back. You look through the sea of children waiting to be picked up and find Summer. She hops over to you and gives you a hug. "Hi Santana."

"Your mom's in a meeting and Rachel had to go to work, so you're going to come stay with me and my mom until your mom gets out of her meeting," you explain to her.

She just smiles. "Yay!"

You hold her hand out to the car as she babbles about her day. You chuckle a few times as she over exaggerates part of her story. You open up the backseat door for Summer and take her backpack as she hops in. Then you place the backpack at her feet.

You move to your door and look back at Summer. "Summer, this is my mom." You gesture to your mom.

Summer smiles brightly, "Nice to meet you."

Your mom smiles back at her. "Nice to meet you too."

On the way back to your apartment, you remember the presents that you got for Summer that you never got to give her. You tell her that you got her something and she practically bounces so hard your whole car is vibrating. You chuckle and look over at your mom to see her smiling. There's something strange in her smile. It's a soft, kind smile. You like it. You're just not used to it.

When you get to your apartment, Summer sits down on the couch, trying to be patient. She doesn't ask you about her present. She just looks at you.

You laugh and walk over to the box. "Well, since sometimes I leave my stethoscope at work." You pull out the miniature, pink stethoscope out of the box and hand it to her. Her eyes light up.

She jumps up and hugs you. "Thank you."

You reach back into the box, "You'll also need this." You hold up her little lab coat.

She squeals, "It has my name on it!" She immediately puts it on.

You're almost afraid for your ear drums to pull out the microscope, but you do it anyway. It takes a few minutes of sitting on the ground at the coffee table to show Summer how to work the microscope, but soon she has the hang of it.

You look up and see your mom looking at you again. She has that warm smile on her face. You stand up and let Summer look at a page of a magazine under her microscope while you gesture your mom into the kitchen.

You lean back on the counter and cross your arms. "Uh, I've been dating Brittany officially for about two weeks, but we became best friends only a few days after I moved here. You're right. It became a lot more serious, a lot more quickly because of Summer. Brittany's a kindergarten teacher. She's sweet and kind and the complete opposite of me."

Your mom chuckles and gives you an unexpected hug. "I saw you in there with Summer. You're sweet and kind as well."

"Just to Summer," you try to put on a mean face.

You mom chuckles and looks around the kitchen. Then her face gets serious. "A teacher?"

"Mom," you shoot her this warning shot with a glare.

She raises her hands in surrender. She takes a breath and crosses her arms. "I was at the conference," you mom says standing in front of you, "And all the other women were talking about the last time their children had called them and what they were doing with their lives when I realized that... you never call me." You start to open your mouth to defend yourself, but she stops you. "Not of your own doing. I know that sometimes your father and I are hard to deal with. We expect a lot out of you because you're brilliant. But know... that we love you. We just want what's best for you. We also want to see you happy." She cups your face, "I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see you with Summer. You look so happy."

"I am," you nod. You smile. You really are happy.

"Your father may make his huffy noise when you tell him that she's a teacher, but remind him that teachers taught him how to be a surgeon," she hugs you. Then she grabs the bread off of your counter. "I'm going to go show Summer what grains look like under the microscope."

You watch your mom and Summer look at things under the microscope for the better part of an hour, from the safety of your couch. They're really cute together. You've never seen your mom with kids before, but the way she's acting with Summer makes you think that she loves children.

There's a knock on the door and then it opens a second later. Brittany pokes her head inside. She catches your eyes first and you smile. She steps inside and closes the door behind her, seeing your mom and Summer. Neither one of them sees Brittany come in so she moves to sit on the couch next to you. "How did it go?”

You kiss Brittany on her cheek. "It went great."

Brittany's eyebrows rise, "Really? You told her everything?"

You smile at Brittany's surprise and nod. "I did."

Brittany grins at you. You don't know why she feels like it's a big thing.

Your mom looks up when Summer hops up to show you something and sees her mom. Her white coat flutters behind her as she streaks over to her mom. "Look what Santana got me!" Summer goes through all the things you gave her and then tries to explain how your mom told her how the microscope works. 

You mom moves to the couch on the other side of Brittany while Summer talks. Then Summer hops up on your lap to show you the proper technique to listen to someone's heartbeat. You smile and look over at Brittany and your mom who are introducing themselves and shaking hands.

"Summer is precious," you hear your mom say.

Summer puts the end of the stethoscope on your forehead. You look questioningly at her and she gives you a goofy smile. "I was trying to hear your brain."

"May I take you ladies to dinner?" your mom asks suddenly.

Brittany immediately looks to you. You just shrug. You don't mind. Your mom and Summer get along great. "That sounds great," Brittany smiles at your mom.

"I'm going to go call your father and tell him that I arrived safely," your mom stands up and steps outside.

"We're going to that place where Rachel works," you state. You want to be somewhere you're surrounded by friends, or at least Brittany's friends.

Brittany nods. "Sure." She takes your hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.

Your mom walks back into the apartment and picks up her purse. "Are we ready to go?"

 

 


	13. I Can Feel A Hot One by Manchester Orchestra

When you get to the restaurant Rachel happily seats you all and greets your mother. Summer taps your shoulder while they're talking about New York. You lean down so that she could whisper in your ear. "Can I order for you?"

You know this is dangerous territory, but you can't help that little grin she has. Especially when she's still wearing her stethoscope around her neck. You nod and ask her what she's going to get you. She just laughs which makes you think that you'll be eating a sandwich when you get home.

Mike walks over before Rachel leaves and he asks your mom what she'd like to drink. You hold your breath waiting for her to ask how many times their water is filtered or to see a wine list that she'll find inadequate. However she just asks for a tea. Then Mike gets Brittany's drink order and when Mike looks at you, Summer says, "Santana wants chocolate milk and me too."

Mike quirks an eyebrow at you and you smirk, "You heard the lady."

He chuckles and nods walking off to get the drinks. "So," your mom looks from Brittany to you, "Tell me how you met."

You groan. You don't want to tell the story. Especially because it makes you seem fairly adolescent. So you look to Brittany and she happily tells the story, making it seem less lame on your part. She adds, "Though Summer met her first."

"Oh really?" your mom asks, looking to Summer. "How did you meet Santana?"

"My friend got hurt on the playground and the teacher asked me to take her to the doctor," Summer states.

"That was certainly nice of you," your mom smiles kindly to Summer.

There's something wrong with your mom. Not really wrong in a bad way, but she's so different. You're going to have to have a talk with her. You don't think that just the convention changed her. Something else has to be going on.

"How long are you going to be in town Mrs. Lopez?" Brittany asks after your drinks have arrived.

"Please call me Maribel," she says to Brittany. Then she shrugs, "I don't really have anything going on. I guess I'll stay as long as Santana can stand having me."

You hold your mom's eyes and earnestly tell her, "You can stay with me as long as you want."

The rest of the dinner goes fantastically. You even enjoyed your dinner of mac n cheese and chocolate milk. You just took a drink of Brittany's water between ever sip and bite. You snatch up the check before your mom can get to it.

Your mom puts her arm around your back as you all walk out to your car in the cool, quiet Lima night. You and your mom stand by the hood of your car while Brittany puts Summer in.

"What's wrong mom?" you ask, putting your arm around her shoulders.

She forces a smile that she knows you know is fake, "I'll tell you later. Let's just have a nice night right now."

When you get back to you apartment, Summer begs to stay, but Brittany tells her it's time to go to bed. You walk them out to their car and kiss Brittany goodnight. You wave to Summer and walk back into your apartment.

Your mom is picking up the box and all the wrappers that Summer's things came in. You walk over to stop her, "I got it mom."

She shakes her head, "I can get it."

You sit down on the couch and wait for her to get back from the kitchen. She walks back into the living room and sits down next to you. You turn to her and plead, "Please tell me what's going on."

You mom angles herself toward you and takes your hands, "Your father and I are... getting a divorce."

At first what she says doesn't register. You blink a few times and then shake your head. "What?"

"I know it may seem sudden, but we've been separated for about a month now and we've both agreed that it's time for us to get it over with," you mom says. The way she says it lends a certain finality to the words.

"Why didn't you tell me about the separation?" you ask. You feel your throat contracting. You'd never seen any problems with them. They were always the perfect couple. You don't know how to process what she's saying.

"I didn't want to worry you. Especially when you're starting two new jobs and living in a new town," she says and squeezes your hands. "I'm sorry to spring it on you like this. Especially because you've just started dating Brittany."

You let it sink in for a moment before asking, "Where are you living?"

She explains, "I've been staying at The Peninsula. I've taken a sabbatical from work. I have a lot of vacation days built up and the hospital board told me to take all the time I needed."

You take a minute just to realize that your parents are splitting up. In your brain it's just floating around, not attaching to anything solid.

Before you can say anything, your mom kisses the side of your head and stands up. "Let's go to bed mija. I'm tired."

You get up and grab some blankets out of your room. You tell her to go sleep in your room. She protests at first, but you lie on the couch and tell her you're not moving. She finally rolls her eyes and tells you that you're the most stubborn person she knows. You tell her that she made you that way. Then she wishes you goodnight.

You lie on the couch staring at the ceiling thinking about your parents. You've never even imagined this. You text Brittany because you need someone to talk to. She may not even be up anymore, but you can try.

She immediately texts you back. Yeah I'm up. Are you okay?

You tell her what's going on and just lie there waiting for an answer. She answers back almost as sweetly, I'm sorry, sweetie. Do you want to call me and talk about it?

You do want to, but you don't want to keep her up. You don't get to decide because your phone rings. It's Brittany and you immediately answer it. "You didn't have to call me."

"Yes I did," she says softly, "I had to make sure you were okay."

"I just," you don't even really have words to describe how you feel. "I don't know how I feel. I'm so surprised. I thought they were doing okay."

"I'm sorry honey," Brittany coos in your ear. "I guess sometimes things don't work out."

You roll onto your side and sigh, "I should have called more often."

"It's not your fault," she tells you. "Not even a little bit."

"I don't know," you sigh. "I don't think it's sunk in yet." You run a hand over your face. "I want my mom to stay with me for a while though."

"That's sweet of you," Brittany adds, "My parents are coming over tomorrow night and we're all going to have dinner. If you and your mom want to come over you can. Maybe it'll take both of your minds off of it for a little while."

"I'll ask her," you reply, "But I bet she'll want to go." You don't think your mom's tendency to be a social butterfly will evaporate just because she's suddenly single.

"My parents want to spend more time with you," Brittany confesses.

"That's scary," you raise your eyebrows in shock.

She chuckles, "Don't be afraid. They just want to get to know you better."

That's still scary as hell. What if they don't like you when they get to know you? You know that Brittany is close with her parents. What happens if they want Brittany to dump you? Other people's parents are scary.

"I wish I could come over and see you," Brittany adds helplessly. "But Summer's already asleep."

"No, don't worry about it," you shake your head. "I'll be okay. I promise."

"I'll see you tomorrow morning okay?" Brittany says. "I'll bring over breakfast."

You start to tell her that she doesn't have to, but you know that never works. She'll do whatever she wants for you. Whenever she wants.

Then she tells you to get some sleep. She tells you that she loves you and wishes you sweet dreams. You miss sleeping next to her, but you're happy knowing that you'll see her in the morning.

Talking wakes you up in the morning. You groan and roll over, trying to bury yourself in the back of your couch. You take a moment and decide that you're not going to be able to get back to sleep. So you roll onto your back and slowly open your eyes. Someone standing over you almost gives you a heart attack.  You jump back into the back of the couch as a tiny giggle erupts from the little girl.

You take a deep breath and slowly roll back onto your back. Summer starts laughing so hard you worry about her breathing. You roll your eyes and sit up on the couch. Scooping her up in your arms as you stand. You tickle her tummy until she begs you to stop.

Usually you're so not a morning person, but seeing Summer and hearing her laugh first thing in the morning changes your demeanor immediately. You walk to your kitchen where you hear voices. When you step in, holding Summer you find your mother and Brittany in the kitchen.

"And then Santana just looked straight ahead," your mom tells Brittany as she stirs something in a skillet. "Everyone is dancing around her and she's just standing there staring out into the crowd like she can't move. When the curtain closed one of the instructors had to pick her up and move her off stage. And that was the end of Santana and dance."

You groan loudly, "Mom. Why do you have to tell that story?" You notice that Brittany's back is to you, but her shoulders are bouncing up and down. She's laughing, but trying to hide it.

"I can't help it," she smiles at you. "It's my favorite story." Your mom departs from the skillet to smooth out your hair. "Go get ready for work mija."

You feel like she's telling you to get ready for school... which she kinda is. You set Summer down and she runs to your couch, throwing herself on it.

You get ready as quickly as possible because you want to quash all childhood stories your mom thinks she may want to share. You leave your bedroom as you're putting up your hair and hear your mom start, "One time when Santana was about Summer's age..."

"No, mom," you say as you step into the kitchen. You figure that you’re going to have to supervise Brittany and your mom from now on.

She pretends to pout, but you know it's all fake. You finally take a deep inhale of the kitchen and smell something you haven't smelled since you were a kid. "Oh my god. You made migas."

"Brittany and I made migas," she corrects you.

You smile at Brittany and say, "Thank you both."

Since you don't actually have a table to eat at, the food gets put on the plates and you all sit around the coffee table. Summer spends about ten minutes picking onions out of her eggs before she starts eating.

"I think I'm going to go get you a dining table today," you mom says after taking a sip of her coffee.

"I don't have anywhere to put a table mom," you put more salsa on your migas and take another bite.

"Of course you do," your mom says. "It'll just be a small one." She turns to the side of the living room opposite the kitchen, where the windows are. She points to a small bookcase you put under the window. "I'll put it over there. It'll be a small table. Put it up against the wall and have three chairs around it that go all the way under it." She smiles, "A place for the three of you. Sometimes you'll need to cook for your girlfriend and when you finally do, she deserves somewhere decent to eat."

Brittany opens her mouth probably to tell your mom that you don't have to, but you answer for her, "I definitely need to cook for her." You shoot a smile to Brittany who smiles adoringly back at you. She has been feeding you daily for a while. It's only fair that you return the favor.

"You still have your rental car?" you ask your mom.

She nods. "I'll be fine, Santana. Don't worry about me. I've heard there isn't much trouble to get into in Lima."

"Mommy, I'm done," Summer presents her plate to her mom. It's clean except for a small pile of sautéed onions on the side.

"Good job," Brittany smiles and takes the plate. "Get ready. We have to go."

Summer looks around the room and walks to the door to get her backpack. You take Summer and Brittany's plates from Brittany and stack them on top of yours. Then you get your moms and take them all to the kitchen.

You feel two hands on your waist as you place the plates into the sink. The taller body of Brittany is pressed against your back. You lean back into her and take her hands, wrapping them as tight as you can around your waist. You find so much solace in her arms.

She gently turns you around and looks at you, concern all over her face. "Are you okay?"

This morning was nice because for a little while you forgot that your parents are splitting up. You always felt that if they could stay together through medical school then anyone could made it. Apparently you were wrong. Your track record isn't all that great. You feel like it might be irrational, but you're shaken.

Brittany seems to take your silence for a no so she pulls you into her arms. You could just stand in her arms all day.

But at that moment Summer runs in, "It's time to go!"

"We'll be right there," Brittany tells her, but doesn't move her arms from around you. She just holds you.

When you hear Summer run away, you look up at Brittany. You cup her cheek and kiss her. You use a tenderness that you didn't know you possessed until you kissed her the first time.

"Tonight after dinner, Summer is going to stay with my parents okay?" she says softly kisses your forehead.

"I don't know if I can leave my mom," you tell her, hating to disappoint her because of whatever she planned tonight.

She smiles against your forehead, "I know. We're just going to talk. My parent's have a great swing on their porch that we can sit on."

You look at her face and see a loving smile. You don't know what you did to deserve her, but if it meant you could keep her forever, you'd do whatever you did over and over everyday for the rest of your life.

"Lunch today?" you ask.

"I wish I could, but I have cafeteria duty this week," She steps away from you and takes your hand, staring to pull you out of the kitchen.

"Boo," you say and allow yourself to be pulled into the living room.

She chuckles and opens the front door for Summer who is waiting as patiently as she can to go outside.

"Mom," you look over at her and see her starting to move the bookshelf from where you put it. She stands up and looks at you. "Do you want to have lunch?"

"Of course," she smiles. "Why don't you come back here? I'll make lunch."

You stop in front of the door, grabbing your purse with your free hand. "You don't have to."

"Santana," your mom puts her hands on her hips, "I'm taking this sabbatical so that I can do the things that I've been missing. I miss cooking."

"Oh that reminds me, do you want to go to Brittany's parents’ house for dinner tonight?" you ask. You glance at Brittany who is using her thumb to remove something from Summer's face that you're sure only moms can see.

"She already asked me," your mom shoots a smile to Brittany. "We're bringing guacamole and your Abuela's lime salsa."

"I make the best guac," you grin.

Your mom chuckles, "Okay honey."

"What do you mean?" you ask, dropping your jaw. Everyone always loves your guacamole.

Your mom smirks and asks, "Aren't you going to be late?"

You love working at the hospital, but there's something nice about helping little kids. Even the high school kids bring you a sense of joy. You know that some of them are faking whatever illness they may have, but you usually give them the benefit of the doubt. You used to fake sickness to go to sales at Bloomingdale's.

You eat lunch with your mom. She made grill sandwiches with some kitchen things you didn't know you had. As you're getting ready to leave, there's a knock on the door. It's a delivery guy with a large box. Your mom signs for it and has the man put it inside.

"Is that my table?" you ask. Your mom really does work fast.

She nods. "It'll be together by the time you get home from work."

You furrow your eyebrows, "Do you know how to put together a table?"

Your mom puts her hands on her hips. "Santana, I have cut open a man's chest, cracked open his ribs, cut out his heart and replaced it with another one. He runs marathons now. I think I can put together a small table."

You raise your hands in surrender, "Sorry."

She laughs and tells you not to forget to pick up avocados on the way home.

You have to say, you're nervous as you get ready to go to Brittany's parents’ house. You thought about tonight after you got back to work after lunch. You were even thinking about it so long that you forgot avocados and had to go back to the store.

"You haven't said anything about your table," your mom says as you absently start walking into your room.

You stop in the living room and look at where the table was supposed to go. Your mom purchased a table that was made of the same wood as your bookshelf and used the bookshelf instead of the outside legs of the table, so that the bookshelf is supporting half of the table. It's a fantastic idea. You turn to your mom, "It looks amazing."

"I'm glad you like it," she hugs you. She then points to your bedroom, "Now go do something with your hair. You can't go to dinner at someone's house with a hair style named after what hangs over a horse’s ass."

You gawk at your mother for a moment before she starts laughing. She disappears into the kitchen and you shuffle your way into your bedroom.

As your mom throws together what she said you'd bring, you straighten your hair and do your make-up. You don't want to wear too much, as if you're trying too hard. But you don't want to look like you didn't try at all.

"This guacamole is going to turn brown by the time you're finished," you mom calls.

You sigh and look at yourself. You're wearing a tank top, but you have a black jacket ready in case it's not acceptable. You have to ask your mom. You hope your shoes look okay. They're boots that you've only worn a few times.

When you walk out your mom smiles at you. "You look nice."

"Really?" you ask pulling the jacket on, "Do I need to wear this?"

"You look perfect," she chuckles and opens the front door for you. "Now we have to go or you're going to make a bad impression by not showing up on time."

"Oh right," you nod absently and grab your keys and your purse.

You follow the directions that Brittany gave you and slowly pull to a stop in front of a gorgeous house. You don't really have time to look at the house because you spot a little blonde girl leaning against the glass of the front door. She enthusiastically waves at you and you wave back. You hope she never gets tired of you.

At the front door, Brittany's mom opens the door. "Hello Santana," she hugs you and you tense up, trying not to drop the guacamole.

Then she hugs your mom. They chat about the wrap around porch and both step outside to discuss the window trim. Summer grabs your hand and pulls you inside. "My grandpa wants to meet you. He's been asking Mommy a bunch of things about you."

You take a deep breath and try to not sweat too much, if you can stop it at all. Summer just keeps pulling you through a very nicely decorated house all the way into a den area. There is a huge overstuffed couch facing a big screen TV. Brittany is sitting, nestled against her dad, watching a baseball game. You can see Summer's toys on the ground. Her microscope is also on the end table with a line of things next to it.

Your heart starts to pound when Mr. Pierce looks up and sees you. Brittany spots you as well and stands up, walking over to you. You can't really think of anything to say except, "I brought guac."

Brittany giggles and gives you a quick peck. "Don't be nervous." Then she takes the bowl from your hands and walks away. As if  leaving you alone with her dad isn't going to make you nervous.

You turn around to follow Brittany when you hear, "So you're Santana."

You slowly swivel back around and realize where Brittany gets her height from. Mr. Pierce is a lean man with greying brown hair and a clean shaven face. He's wearing a polo and khaki pants. You swallow and shove your hands into your pockets, "Yes sir. I'm Santana."

His face shows no kind of emotion. He just looks you over and says, "Mhmm." He pulls you into his arms and you close your eyes waiting to be crushed to death for violating his daughter. Then you hear him laugh as he pulls away, "I'm just messing with you."

You breathe out a small sigh of relief. You're a little less nervous, but still very nervous.

He sits back down and pats the couch next to him. "Have a seat Santana."

You walk around the coffee table in front of him and sit a safe distance away. You look up at the TV and try to keep your eyes on the TV.

"Do you like baseball?" he asks.

You look away from the TV and answer, "Um, I'm not really into sports."

"Do you like TV?" he asks, angling himself so that he can see you better.

You shrug. "I don't watch a lot. Sometimes the news," You give yourself an internal self-five. That makes you sound smart. "And documentaries," Whoa there cowgirl, now you sound pretentious. "And Jersey Shore." Why the hell did that just come out of your mouth? You don't even watch it. You were just trying to think of a way to sound less douchey, but now you sound like you're 16. You wonder why your mouth doesn't work anymore.

He chuckles, getting a kick out of your verbal stumbles.

"She likes to watch cartoons with me," Summer adds, looking into her microscope.

You nod and smile at her. You love watching cartoons with Summer.

Luckily before you get asked another question your mom, Brittany's mom, and Brittany all walk into the den. Mr. Pierce stands up and hugs your mom, introducing himself.

"Honey you should go check on the chicken," Brittany's mom tells her husband.

He nods and kisses his wife, "Yes dear."

When you see them kiss, your eyes flicker to your mom. She looks away from them with her smile fading. You feel a pain in your chest. You know that your parents will never be like that again. If they ever were. You feel like everything you knew about them has been called into question.

Brittany seems to see both of your reactions. She moves to your mom and puts her arm around her shoulders. "Did my mom show you what she did with the guest bathroom?"

"Oh no," Brittany's mom says and motions from your mom to follow her. "I bet you'll have a great idea for what I should do with the shower."

Once they took off down the hallway, Brittany walks over to the couch and sits down. She opens her arms to you and you make your way over to her, sitting on the couch with the side of your leg touching the side of Brittany's. She pulls on you so that you're leaning into her. Then her arms wrap around you holding you tight. "I'm sorry sweetie."

"It's not your fault," you shake your head.

She kisses the side of your head. She curls her fingers around your bicep and her thumb strokes the skin it rests on. "I love you," she whispers with her forehead resting on the side of your head. "I wish I could do something for you and your mom."

"This is great," you reach over and take her free hand, holding it between both of your hands. "Thanks for having us over." You watch Summer carefully place a plastic slide under the microscope and look into it. It blows you away how smart she is.

She kisses your cheek as your moms walk back in. "It's time for dinner ladies," Brittany's mom says to the three of you.    

Dinner is so nice. Before dinner, Brittany took both of her parents into the kitchen under the guise of helping her get dinner, but you know she told them about your mom's divorce because over dinner no one was asked about their relationships and although Brittany's parents look lovingly at each other, they don't kiss.

Your mom's guacamole and salsa go over amazingly and you have to say that Mr. Pierce’s grilled chicken is amazing. Mrs. Pierce goes into the kitchen after dinner and returns with a German chocolate cake. Your mom volunteers to go make some coffee while you've been assigned the job of keeping Summer from diving into the cake before Brittany can cut it.

You lean down and look at Summer, "Where are your phalanges?"

She wiggles her fingers at you.

You grin. "Good job. Okay, where are your ribs?"

She points to her ribs and smiles proudly.

You can't help, but be proud of her too. "Alright," you glance back at Brittany who is putting pieces of cake on the plates, "Where are your tibia and fibula?"

She looks at you for a moment before furrowing her eyebrows. She points to her knee. You shake your head and she points to her shin.

"Yes!" you say and hold your hand up, "High five." She slaps your hand and you turn to Brittany. "Summer is ready for her cake."

"Cake!" Summer yells.

After cake and coffee, you feel sufficiently full. All of your parents go to the living room with Summer. You and Brittany clean off the table together. Once the dishwasher is going and the leftovers are taken care of, Brittany walks up behind you and wraps her arms around your waist. She brushes your hair away and gently kisses the back of your neck.

"Are you ready?" she asks.

You nod slowly. You guess you are. You're not sure what's going to come out of this talk, if anything, but you know that you need to do it.

"The swing is out on the front porch okay?" she tells you. "I'm going to go sit down and you can come out when you're ready."

You're glad that she's giving you a few minutes to get together to go outside. She leaves you in the kitchen and when you built up enough courage you head outside after her.

It's getting chilly out so Brittany is wearing what you assume is one of her mom's sweaters. It's off white and bigger than Brittany's lean frame. She's sitting sideways with a blanket over her legs. You walk over to the swing and lift her feet, sliding under them.

You fold your hands over her shins and pick at the old gray-blue blanket. "So, what now?"

"We can talk," she says. "We don't have to. We can just sit here and be together."

You smile at your hands and then turn your head to look at her. "How do you always know exactly what I need?"

"It's my Santana sense," she picks up one of your hands.

You chuckle and lean back in the swing, pushing off with the toe of your left shoe. You both sway for a little while before you speak. "I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel. Maybe I should feel outraged or depressed. I always thought that they'd be together. They always seemed happy. Were they unhappy and stayed together because of me? Was I a reason they broke up? I mean I wanna know these things, but I can't ask my mom. She won't tell me the truth if the answer to any of that is yes."

"You've done everything they wanted you to do," Brittany runs her thumb over your knuckles, "What could they have possibly broken up for because of you?"

"I don't know, but it could be something, anything really," you say desperately, "Any small thing could have triggered something huge. Like that 'C' I got in History."

"When?" Brittany asks like she already knows the answer.

"High school," you mumble.

"Babe, they didn't break up over a C you got in high school," she tells you while trying to squash a smile on her lips.

You look down again and you can feel the tears finally start to surface. You can see the smile disappear from Brittany's face from the corner of your eyes. She lifts up one of her legs and puts it behind you before pulling you to her so that you're leaning back against her. Her arms encircle you. You turn a little so that you can rest the side of your head on her shoulder. You don't know why you feel this crushing sadness. You weren't really super close to your parents like Brittany is to hers, but they were always together and now they're not.

Then you start thinking about your future. You think about how fragile relationships are. How little cracks can destroy the whole thing. You think about how easily you could fuck up this beautiful thing you have with Brittany. You think about Summer and how you never want her to feel the way you feel.

"What are you thinking?" Brittany asks quietly.

You tell her everything you're thinking. You don't leave anything out. By the time you're done talking there are tears streaming down your face.

Brittany is quiet and you're scared that you hurt her with your thoughts or scared her or made her angry. You look up at her and see her looking out into the dark night, thinking intensely.

"Britt?" you ask. You despise your weak, pathetic voice when you try to get her attention.

She looks down at you. Her eyes bore into yours and you feel her all over your body, on the outside and inside. She picks up one of her hands and cups your cheek, using her thumb to brush over your skin. "Do you love me?"

"Yes," you immediately answer. You don't know why she would think that you didn't.

She keeps holding your eyes when she says, "Well I love you too." She softly kisses you, drawing it out. Her eyes are still closed when you open yours. Her eyes slowly open and she gives you a genuine smile. "All we can do is try our best. We're not your parents. We're not my parents. We're us. We're Santana and Brittany and we love each other. That's what counts."

You slip your arms around her and lay your head on her shoulder. You close your eyes and feel her fingers venture under your shirt, playing around the small of your back. It feels good having the warm skin of her fingers on the warms skin of your back. Just having her touching you is comforting in ways you can't fully understand.

"So I guess you aren't going camping this weekend," Brittany says.

You chuckle, "I don't want to leave my mom for a whole weekend."

"I understand," Brittany answers. You know that she didn’t really want to go camping, but she seems a little disappointed.

You hate to disappoint Summer though. So you speak an idea. "How about we camp in your back yard? I know it's not real camping, but we can stay in town and Summer will be happy."

"That's a great idea," Brittany tightens her arms around you.

The front door opens and you open your eyes, seeing Summer run over to the swing. "Mommy can I stay here tonight?"

"Did Grandpa say it was okay?" Brittany asks.

"He asked me if I wanted to," Summer states, rocking back and forth.

Brittany pretends to think about it until Summer is jumping up and down. Brittany chuckles, "Can I have a kiss?"

Summer puts her hands on the side of the swing and pushes up on her toes to give her mom a kiss. Then she asks, "Can I please?"

"Yes," Brittany grins at her daughter. Her eyes light up when she looks at Summer and it is all kinds of beautiful.

Summer squeals and runs back inside.

You laugh with Brittany and bury your face in her sweater. "So you're going to be alone tonight?"

"Maybe," she chuckles mysteriously. She looks down at you, "Did you have an idea?"

"I did," you look up at her. "You don't have to let me stay over, but I think I'd feel better if I could stay with you tonight. It's not a big deal though."

"Of course," she kisses your forehead. "You can stay with me whenever you want."

Your mom comes outside a few minutes later while you and Brittany are just lying on the swing. Brittany's hand immediately disappears from the small of your back and you giggle. Apparently you're not the only nervous one. Brittany even sits up a little straighter.

"Are you girls okay?" she asks, her hands wrapped around a coffee mug.

You sit up a little more. "Yeah."

Your mom narrows her eyes at you. She doesn't quiet believe you. You forgot that you didn't wipe your face after crying, but you thought you face was dry. It must be puffy and red. You look away from your mom. "Will you be okay by yourself tonight? Brittany and I have a lot a talking to do."

You mom nods. "Of course." She walks over to the swing and brushes your hair away from your face. She runs her thumb under your eye and says, "I love you, mija. I guess we need to talk later as well."

You look up at her. "I love you too mom."

Then your mom turns to Brittany. "Take care of my baby okay?"

You look up at Brittany. She smiles at your mom and nods, "I promise." She says it seriously and something deep inside of you knows that she means it. It feels really good knowing that someone not only will, but wants to take care of you. It’s a new feeling to you.

"Thank you," your mom says genuinely. You love that they are getting along. You don’t know what you’d do if they weren’t.

You and Brittany get up to head to her house. You thank Mr. and Mrs. Pierce for dinner and give your mom the keys to your car and apartment because she rode with you. Summer makes sure to give you a hug before you leave.

"Are you sure you're okay?" you ask your mom as she walks with you out to your car that's right behind Brittany's.

She hugs you and tells you that she'll be fine and to stop worrying about her. But you’re going to keep being concerned. You know it. You cross your arms and keep looking at her, “Do you know how to get back?”

“Yes,” your mom pretends to be exasperated. “I drove across town and found my way back getting your table.”

You nod to your mom and tell her that you love her again. She hugs you one more time and kisses your cheek, telling you that she loves you more than anything.

With one last parting, worried look to your mom, you walk over to Brittany’s car. She opens the door for you and you climb in. When she gets into the car, she starts it and holds her hands out to you. You smile and take her hand, your fingers sliding together as she takes you back to her house.

 


	14. Fireflies by Amy Cook

You're not really concerned with what you wear to bed so you just shimmy out of your jeans, fold them up, and place them on Brittany's dresser. She does the same and you both crawl into bed together. You love her bed. It's so big and soft. It's warm and it smells great.

You meet in the middle of the bed and your arms wrap around each other. You're usually the one with your head on Brittany's shoulder, but somehow, this time her head is on your chest. You like it like this. You can hold her and stroke her hair and kiss her whenever you want.

"Santana," she says quietly. You thought she was asleep so you are a little surprised by her voice.

"Hmm?" you ask as you run your fingers through her hair as you have been for the past twenty minutes.

"Were you ever scared of being with me?" her voice is barely audible.

You keep your fingers moving through her hair and kiss the top of her head. "No. I never even thought about being scared. I was appalled that anyone would be scared of being with you." That's the truth. You never blinked thinking about what other people would think.

Brittany grips your shirt tighter, constricting her arms around you. She doesn't say anything so you think you said something right.

She falls asleep before you do, but you're close behind her. You're surprised when you wake up first, but your bladder is screaming at you. You slip out of bed and walk to the bathroom. When you step out of the bathroom, Brittany has rolled over and is taking up most of the bed.

You smile and watch her for a moment before going to the kitchen. You start some coffee and walk to the door that leads to the backyard. You tiptoe back into the bedroom to borrow some pants from Brittany. You find some grey yoga pants first so you put them on, pull your boots on, and walk back to the backyard.

It's a decent sized yard for the house. There are some toys around the yard and it looks as if some branches have fallen from the trees, but you think you have a good place to go camping.

You start picking up the yard toys and putting them in a box by the back door. Then you start throwing the twigs in the yard into a pile next to the biggest tree. You don't know how Brittany or her neighbors feel about campfires in the backyard, but if you can have one, you want to. Not that you're a camping expert, but s'mores seem important.

You hear a door close and look up at the house. You don't see Brittany so you look around. On the other side of the wooden fence you see a man standing on his back porch next door. He spots you looking so he hitches his chin.

You nod back to him and look around the yard. You wonder if you can fit an air mattress into a tent.

"Are you friends with Brittany?" the man asks.

You look over and see that he's leaning over the top of the fence, his forearms resting on top of it. His porch must be right up against the fence because the fence is at least seven feet tall. You walk over to it. "We're dating."

"Oh yeah?" he smiles. "Good for her." He extends his hand to you, "I'm Dave."

"Santana," you shake his hand. You notice a logo on his shirt: LFD. "Are you a firefighter?"

He chuckles, "I used to be. Now I'm the fire marshal."

"Oh cool," you look around the yard. "How do you feel about campfires in the backyard?"

"In your backyard?" he says. He starts looking over your backyard.

"This backyard," you clarify. "Summer wants to go camping and because of some family issue I'm having we're going to be camping back here this weekend."

"And you want to have a camp fire?" he asks with an understanding smile. "I think as long as you keep it small and make sure to have a bucket of water or fire extinguisher handy, then it'll be fine. I'll let the department know. There's a little old lady across the alley that will call in anything."

"Thank you," you shake his hand again. "I want to make this as fun for Summer as I can and I feel bad that we can't actually go anywhere."

He nods. "Have I seen you around? You look familiar?"

You shrug, "I work at the school."

"Are you a teacher?" he asks.

"I'm the district doctor," you explain, "Do you have any kids?"

He chuckles. "No. Do you work at the hospital?" He waves to someone behind you.

You turn around and see Brittany. You give her a smile and answer Dave's questions. "Yeah, I'm the on call orthopedist."

He grins widely, "Oh. That's why. I brought Rick into the ER."

You see a cup of coffee appear in front of you and lift it out of Brittany's hand. "Thank you." You take a sip of your coffee. You look back at Dave, "He's a friend of yours?"

Dave shakes his head, "Not really. We hung out a few times in high school. I just happened to be driving by when I saw him fall. All of his buddies were drunk. Someone had to take him in. I feel like I need to apologize for him thinking you were a stripper."

"Who thought you were a stripper?" Brittany asks, her arm making it's way around your waist.

"Rick the Stick," Dave told her. He took his hands from over the fence. "I went out to get something to eat and he asked Santana if she was his stripper gram."

Brittany frowns and you smile at her. "It's okay," you tell her. "It's not cheap having the best orthopedic surgeon in the city."

Dave and Brittany laugh.

"I'm going to head inside and start breakfast," Dave waves to you and Brittany. "Have fun." Then he adds to you, "I love your boots."

You look questioningly at Brittany, but she just waves back at him.

You and Brittany walk back inside. "What were you doing in the backyard?"

"Scouting for our camping trip," you walk into the kitchen and open the pantry door. "Dave said we could have a camp fire."

You feel Brittany take your hand and pull you out of the pantry. You feel your back press against the counter and Brittany press against your front. You don't know why, but she kisses you hard. You arch your back trying to get impossibly closer to her as her tongue runs across your bottom lip, as if asking for permission.

Before you can grant permission, Brittany pulls your shirt over your head and tosses it to the side. When her hands meet the skin across your stomach, you gasp into her mouth. You can feel her smile against your mouth. One of her legs slips between yours and she rolls her hips into you. It's hard to tell what's turning you on more. Her hands are everywhere, cupping your breasts and slipping down into your pants.

The things Brittany is able to do to your body are nothing short of magickal. You were able to return the favor and when you finally look up, you and Brittany are lying on the living room floor, a sweaty, panting, and naked heap on the floor.

You rest your chin on Brittany's stomach and look up at her, trying to catch her breath. She looks so beautiful all the time, but when she's not trying or even when her hair is messed up and her forehead is covered in a sheen of light perspiration, there's something so sexy about her.

She rests the back of her hand on her forehead as her breathing slows. She wipes her forehead and looks down at you. She lets out a smile. "Hi."

You chuckle, "Hi."

She pulls you up her body and kisses you sweetly. "I think we should go take a shower and then go get breakfast."

You look up at the clock on the wall. "It's lunch time."

"Let's go take a shower and get lunch," she giggles and kisses you again.

You find that a shower is so much easier when there are four hands cleansing your body. It just takes a little longer than usual because other, more fun things, get in the way.

As you drive to the only Mexican food place in town, Brittany calls to check on Summer. She puts her phone on speaker so she can finish putting her eyeliner on. Summer asks when you're going to pick her up to go camping. Brittany chuckles and looks over at you. You shrug. "We have to go get the tent and stuff."

"We'll pick you up at three," Brittany tells her. "We have to go get a tent."

"Hurry!" Summer calls.

Brittany tells her to be patient, but you just chuckle. When Brittany hangs up with Summer, you call your mom. She tells you that she's fine. She's having lunch with one of the board members of the hospital in Lima. You ask her why, but she doesn't give you a straight answer.

"Do you think she's thinking about moving here?" Brittany asks after you hung up with your mom.

You shake your head. "No way. The nearest Bloomingdale's is at least a thousand miles away." You pull into a parking place at the restaurant.

"Maybe she wants to be near you," Brittany offers.

You're still skeptical, but you don't want to think about it anymore. So you change the subject. You and Brittany make a list of things you need to go camping with over a giant plate of nachos.

"Why do you need a machete?" Brittany asks, moving some jalapenos onto a cheese covered chip.

You just smile and shrug. Then you look down at the plate, "Hey, you're stealing all my jalapenos." You use your fork to nail one of the jalapenos she's trying to steal down to the plate.

She laughs and wraps her fingers around your wrist. Then she uses your own fork to shovel jalapenos onto one of her nachos. You can't find it in yourself to be mad. You think she's cute. Even when her eyes water because she ate too many and she has to polish off her water and half of yours.

When the waiter comes back with the check, Brittany asks for it before he sets it down on the table. You shake your head and look up at him. "I will give you a twenty dollar tip of you give it to me."

He immediately places it in your hand you stick your tongue out at Brittany.

"I'm getting dinner then," Brittany states with her arms crossed and a pout firmly on her lips.

"That's good," you throw down some cash on the table and stand up. "Because I've never cooked over a camp fire."

"Neither have I," she grins devilishly.

You know she'd threaten you with burnt whatever she's going to make, but she won't make you eat it. So you place your hand on the small of her back and escort her outside to your car. You kiss her before you open the door for her and revel in the fact that you are happy and she is the source of it.

"Why do we need a six room tent?" Brittany asks as you're standing in the isle of the sporting good store.

You look over your shoulder at her, "I need somewhere to put my shoes."

She rolls her eyes and grabs a small one room tent that sleeps six. You hop on the cart and push off with your foot, grabbing a lantern, some glow sticks, and a first aid kit as you sail by.

Brittany chuckles and walks after you. "Why do you need a first aid kit?"

"Well I'm helping to put up the tent," you say, stopping to look over the sleeping bags. "There's bound to be some bleeding in my future."

Brittany finally catches up to you as you select your sleeping bag. "It's barely autumn. Why do you need a sleeping bag rated for negative fifty?"

"If you keep asking my why I need stuff, we're going to be here all day," you kiss her cheek and throw the sleeping bag in the cart before hopping on and sailing away again. Truth be told, you're super excited for this camping 'trip'. You've never been before and you're seeing some very cool things that you've never even heard of before.

Brittany picks up some metal skewers for the s'mores and then she has to push you away from the machetes. You wanted to get two. You know strap them in an 'x' over your back. Look like a badass. "We're going camping in my backyard. There aren't going to be any zombies."

"You never know," you smile at her. It helps that you know she thinks you're cute.

You don't get your machetes, but you do a fire starting kit that has flint and steel in it. Brittany smiles at you as you put it in the cart. You know that in her head, she's trying to remember where she put her matches, but you love that she's going to let you have fun with it.

After a quick stop at the grocery store for some things that Brittany needs for dinner, you drop by Brittany's parents' house to pick up Summer.

When you get to your house, you and Summer grab as much camping gear as you can and run to the backyard. You and Summer have the tent already out of the bag by the time Brittany starts dinner to marinating. Brittany sits on the ground a few feet from where you and Summer are putting up the tent.

"Do you need the instructions?" Brittany asks you, waving the paper in the air.

You try to use your mom's argument. "I put six titanium pins in a man's leg. I can put up a tent."

Brittany just laughs and leans back on her elbows, "Fine."

Apparently you're not as handy outside of the operating room as you are inside of the operating room and after Summer asks you if you know what you're doing, you finally ask Brittany for the instructions. After that, it goes by quickly and soon you have a tent set up.

Summer jumps right in, giggling. "This is fun!"

You look back at Brittany who is smiling at Summer who has started running in circles inside of the tent. You start trying to get the sleeping bags into the tent, but Summer stops you. "We have to lay on those and look at the stars by the campfire tonight."

"Oh," you take her word for it because you're new to this camping thing. "All right, well what now?"

Summer looks around and rolls out her pink sleeping bag. She lies down on it and looks at the sky. "We can look at clouds now."

You roll out Brittany’s and your sleeping bags and look up at the sky. You're a little worried about some ominous looking grey clouds moving in from one side of the sky.

Summer lies still for all of five minutes before jumping up and walking around the yard. Brittany rolls onto her stomach and pushes up on her elbows. "What are you doing sweetheart?"

"I'm looking for rocks," she bent down in the far corner of the yard and picked what you really hope is a rock.

Brittany looks over at you and you share a smile. She scoots closer to you and dips her head down to give you a kiss.

"I got rocks," Summer says walking over to you. As she's walking, she trips over her sleeping bag and goes tumbling toward you. You reach up to stop her from falling, but the rocks fall out of her arms as she falls, one bouncing off of your forearm and into your eye.

A stream of barely edited bad words comes out of your mouth. You make sure Summer is standing before your hands shoot to your eye.

Through your non-injured eye you see Summer watching you with her hands over her mouth. Her eyes are watering and you know she feels terrible. You try to blink your hurt eye open and you find that you can. It's just difficult. "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay."

She slowly shuffles over to you and wraps her little arms around your neck. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," you cradle the back of her head. "It was an accident."

Summer takes a step back and places her hands carefully on your cheeks then kisses what you're sure is a red mark under your eye. It hurts when she kisses it, but it's so sweet that you can't help, but smile. "I love you Santana."

"I love you too Summer," you smile even though that hurts your eye too. "Why don't you show me what the rocks are for?"

As soon as Summer starts picking up the rocks, Brittany hands you a blue ice pack. She gently takes your chin between her thumb and forefinger and turning your head so that she can see. "Are you sure you're okay babe?"

You nod, "It's not a big deal."

Brittany gently puts the ice pack on it. You reach up and take over holding it on your eye. Brittany moves to sit behind you so that you can lean back on her. You both watch Summer put the rocks in a circle on the patch of grass between the sleeping bags. She tells you it's for the fire.

You high five her and tell her that it's a great idea. Then she goes to the pile of twigs that you gathered that morning and drops some in the middle of them.

"Let me see," Brittany says a few minutes later, lifting the cold pack.

You move it off of your eye. "Oh babe, it looks like you're going to have a shiner."

"That's okay," you give her a kiss. "Everyone will think I'm a badass."

"You're such a badass, baby," she wraps her arms around your middle. Something about the way she says that makes you feel as if she doesn't think you're a badass.

When the sun starts setting, Brittany goes inside to get dinner, and you, with the help of Summer, try to get a fire started with the flint. Right as Brittany comes outside, you catch a spark and the kindling starts smoking. You high five Summer and you see Brittany discreetly slip a matchbook into her pocket.

Brittany makes fajitas over the fire and they're delicious. You drink water from bottles that Brittany has put in a cooler and placed next to the tent.

Summer is curled up next to you as the evening turns to night and becomes chilly. You help her put the marshmallows on the end of her skewer and blow it out when it catches on fire and Summer freaks out. You help her make the s'more and then make one of your own.

You look across the fire at Brittany who is smiling at you and Summer. You love it so much when she looks at you like that. You feel like you're doing something really right when you see that sparkle in her eyes.

Then you turn to the grinning face of Summer. She has a little melted marshmallow on her face and you gently wipe it off.

Brittany runs inside to get jackets for everyone and put up the food. You help Summer get hers on and pull the jacket on that Brittany gave you. You put your hair up and put your arm around Summer who is leaning on you.

When you look across the fire again you see Brittany smiling. She mouths 'I love you'.

It's creeping past nine o'clock when you look down and see that Summer's asleep. Brittany sees it as well and moves Summer's sleeping bag into the tent. You scoop Summer up and shuffle into the tent on your knees. You gently set her down and watch Brittany zip her up.

Brittany turns the lantern inside the tent on, leaves the flap on the tent open, and crawls back out. She sits next to you and cuddles into you much like Summer did. You put your arm around her and kiss her forehead. "You doing okay?"

She smiles up at you. "Yeah. How's your eye?"

"It's fine. I'm a badass," you smile at her.

She chuckles. "My badass," she leans over and kisses you. She then examines your eye. "There's definitely going to be a bruise."

"That's what concealer is for," you lean over and kiss her again. "It's really not a big deal. There's not actual eye damage and no lacerations. Those are the two major concerns with an black eye."

She brushes some hair out of your face that's fallen from your ponytail, "You are amazing and I'm so glad you're here."

"I'm glad I'm here too," you kiss her again and then move your head out of the way so that she can put her head down on your shoulder.

The night sky is broken up by a strike of lightning. You look up at the sky and realize that you can't see the moon.

"Is that-" Brittany asks, sitting up and putting her hands out.

A few seconds later, an onslaught of sudden rain forces you both to jump into the tent, barely remembering to grab your sleeping bags and quickly zip it up. But it seems to a raining in the back left corner of the tent. You strip off your jacket and hold it up to the hole.

Brittany asks, "Did you put the rain fly on that window?"

You raise your eyebrows and look over your shoulder at her in the lantern light, "What's a rain fly?"

Brittany laughs at you and peeks outside. Then she pulls her hood over her head and jumps out of a small hole in the tent. Summer is up by now and looking at you like you're crazy.

"I forgot to put the rain fly on," you explain to her.

"What's that?" she rubs her eyes and lays back down.

"I don't know," you smile at her. Just as you say that you feel the rain stop dripping into the tent. You remove your soaked jacket and see that the tent is no longer leaking.

A few seconds later, a completely drenched Brittany hops back into the tent. She quickly closes the tent and then rips off her soaking jacket. You take it from her and place it on a hook that's built into the top of the tent, away from the sleeping bags. You hang yours next to it then move to Brittany's sleeping bag. You open it for her so that she can get in and get warm.

She smiles at you and slips into her sleeping bag next to Summer. Summer gives her mom a sleepy smile. Brittany kisses her daughter on her forehead and then lays down. "Goodnight Summer."

"Goodnight mommy," Summer's eyes slip closed. "Goodnight Santana."

"Goodnight Sum," you call softly to the other side of the tent. When you get into your sleeping bag and zip it up you hum a little. Brittany scoots closer to you inside of her sleeping bag. You kiss her forehead. "This sleeping bag is great. And you said I didn't need a subzero sleeping bag."

Brittany giggles and kisses you softly on your lips. "You were right. I was so wrong getting the one that was rated for fall weather in the Midwest."

You chuckle and look over Brittany. "I don't know. That unicorn sleeping bag that Summer has is pretty legit."

Brittany laughs with you and after one last kiss, she turns off the lantern. Then you scoot as close as you can to Brittany and find that you can't actually hold Brittany in anyway. You smile at yourself and just sort of lean against Brittany. She leans back against you and you both drift of to sleep with the rain gently tapping on the plastic of the tent.

You don't sleep very long though because you get really hot. You wake up with sweat coating your neck. You sigh and unzip your overly insulated sleeping back and realize that it is freezing outside of your sleeping bag. You try to leave it unzipped a little, but it still makes you hot and then when you unzip too much you get cold.

"Problem?" you hear Brittany asks sleepily.

"Sorry," you whisper. "I'm just.... my sleeping bag is too warm."

She chuckles and rolls over. "Unzip it all the way and we'll lay on it and use my as a blanket."

"Thank you," you do what she tells you to and when you lay down, she lays down next to you and covers you with her open sleeping bag. Her arm that was holding the part of the sleeping bag over you, falls with it and rests around your waist.

"Goodnight," she kisses and snuggles into you.

When you wake up, you are the last person still in the tent. You can hear Brittany and Summer though. They're talking about some kind of food. You sit up and rub your eyes, which is a bad idea because you forgot about the bruise you have under your eye.

You finally make your way out of the tent. Brittany got the fire going again and is now cooking breakfast tacos over it. She's pretty much done and is putting some eggs and bacon in Summer's tortilla as she spots you.

"Do you want some?" Brittany asks, resting her pan on a top of another one that's on the ground. She digs a tortilla out of the bag and makes you one even though you didn't answer.

"Thank you," you smile at her and accept it.

After breakfast, you all start packing up. You have to go see your mom after the backyard is clean. It doesn't take long because Brittany ties the tent up to a tree so it will dry. Everything else gets taken inside and put into the linen closet.

Brittany walks you to your car. You toss your sleeping bag into the backseat and thank her for letting you camp out with her.

She kisses you and tells you to call her later if you're not sick of her. You kiss her back and say that you'll never be sick of her.

When you get home, you have your sleeping bag in your hand. Your mom looks up from the TV and smiles. "Did you have fun at your sleepover dear?"

You chuckle and toss your sleeping bag onto the couch, "I got overzealous in buying a sleeping bag and I had to sweat out half the night."

"Oh mija, you've always been overzealous with everything," she teases you. Then she catches sight of your face, “Santana, what happened to your eye?” She stands up and gently holds your face in her hands, examining it.

You smile at her concern, “I was laying on the ground, looking at clouds, and Summer dropped some rock and one ended up in my eye. I’m fine. I put ice on it.”

She looks it over and then hugs you. “I’m sorry you got hurt.”

“It’s fine,” you gently squeeze her in your arms before letting go and leading her back to the couch. “Summer felt really bad though.”

“She’s a sweet girl,” your mom agrees.

You put your arm around her. "I love you mom."

"What is wrong with you?" your mom smiles playfully.

"Nothing," you rest your head on her shoulder. "But sometimes seeing Summer with Brittany makes me realize that you were pretty awesome when I was little."

She kisses the top of your head, "I wish I would have kept being awesome for you."

"You were great," you shake your head, "I think I turned out okay."

"You turned out better than okay," she smiles at you.

You watch TV for a little while until your phone rings. You pull it out of your pocket and almost as soon as you read who it is you ignore the call.

"Who was it?" your mom asks.

You shake your head and lean back on the couch. "Telemarketer." You feel bad lying to her, but there's no way that you're going to tell her that your dad just called.

 


	15. No Light, No Light by Florence + the Machine

When you wake up the next morning, you check your phone. Your dad hasn't called you again and you're glad. Last night, you had no idea how you felt about it. You just want this whole thing to be over so you can have two Christmases like all the other children of divorce. 

 

As you're waiting for your mom to get out of the bathroom, your phone chirps. You pick it up and check the screen. You are being paged to the hospital. When you call in Mercedes tells you that it'll be at least an hour before you can get in there. The other surgeons have some organ damage to attend to before you can even think about looking at the broken bones. You thank her and tell her that you'll be in, in an hour.  

 

Since you have time, you decide to do something nice for Brittany because she's always doing something nice for you. You stop by the store on the way to the elementary school. You walk right to her classroom and smile when you find her behind her desk. It looks like she's grading papers.  

 

She keeps writing as you walk up, so you put the sunflower behind your back along with the bag of donut holes you got for her. You keep holding the coffee in front of you because you figure that you'll spill it trying to get it behind your back. 

 

When she finishes, she puts her pen down and looks up at you. "Hey." 

 

"Hey," you offer her the coffee.  

 

She takes it and tries to lean over to see what's behind your back. "Did you bring me presents?" 

 

"Sorta," you pull your hand with the bag of donut holes and the flower from behind your back. You present them to her and she smiles.  

 

She takes them both from you, smelling the flower and then opening the bag. She stands up and walks around her desk to give you a hug. "Thank you." You hold her around her waist as tightly as you can.  

 

"Mmm," she hums in your ear, "I love you." 

 

"I love you too," you say back and pull away. Your hands are still on her hips. You hate the no kissing rule at work, but it would be majorly unprofessional.  

 

She smiles, "My dad came over last night to mow the backyard and asked why where was a circle burned into the backyard." 

 

You chuckle, "Did you tell him that Summer wanted to rough it?" 

 

"Yeah," Brittany breaks away from you and walks back around her desk. She sits in her chair and opens the bag of donut holes, picking one out. "He laughed and said that we actually have to go somewhere for it to be camping. Then he gave me a map with all of the good camping in fishing places in the state." 

 

"Are we going camping again?" you ask walking to the side of the desk and leaning on it. 

 

"Looks like it," Brittany grins, popping a donut hole in her mouth. "Maybe this time you get to bring your machetes." 

 

"Yes!" you do a mock fist pump and she chuckles. You check the door and make sure no one is there before dropping a kiss on her head. "I have to go cut open some lady's back and fix her spine." 

 

"That's hot," Brittany says.      

 

You give her a wink and start walking toward the door. "Call me if you want to do something later." 

 

She nods. "I have a meeting after work so my mom is going to pick up Summer, but I'll call you after I get her." 

 

You wave and step out of the room. You love spending time with Brittany. Any time at all. This actually started your day off wonderfully. You wish you could see her everyday before work. Or every night before you go to bed. Or all day all the time. 

 

When you get to the hospital, you spot someone you recognize right as you walk into the lobby. "Hey Rachel," you walk up next to her as she walks toward the elevator. 

 

"Hey!" Rachel smiles and hugs you. "How have you been?" 

 

"Pretty good," you smile, "Except for the whole my parents are getting a divorce and my mom is staying with me." You playfully bump shoulders with her. "How are you?"

 

"Your parents are splitting up?" Rachel looks heartbroken. She's always been able to feel things others are feeling. She also sort of magnifies it. 

 

You shrug, "Yeah. Are you here to see your dad?" 

 

"Yes," Rachel says with a smile. "I'm actually picking him up because Daddy has a trial going on." 

 

"Awesome," you say as the elevator doors open. 

 

"He'll be here a while," Rachel says, stepping onto the elevator right before you, "Do you want to have lunch?" 

 

You calculate in your head how long you'll be doing surgery and then nod, "Yeah. I'll definitely be out of surgery by them." 

 

"I had no idea you were a surgeon until Mercedes told me," Rachel presses the button for her floor and you press the floor for the office you share with the other part time surgeons.  

 

"I wasn't really planning to follow it, but I just kinda fell into it," you smile. "I love it though." 

 

Rachel gives you another hug when the elevator doors open on her floor. "Do you mind if we have lunch with my Dad?"

 

"Not at all," you shrug. 

 

She beams at you, leaning back on the open door of the elevator to keep it from closing, "Room 348. I'll go to the cafeteria since you'll be getting right out of surgery. Turkey sandwich okay with you?" 

 

"That's perfect," you smile back at her. 

 

Rachel gives you a quick wave and gets off of the elevator.  

 

You're bummed to find out that Mercedes won't be assisting you, but you still get to listen to your music as you reconstruct this car accident victim's spine.  

 

You actually do finish in time for lunch. You change your scrubs into some spare ones you keep in your locker and change into some sneakers you keep in your locker as well after almost walking out.  

 

It doesn't take long to find Rachel's Dad's room. You poke your head in and knock on the door. Rachel’s not in the room, but who you assume is her dad is sitting up in one of the beds. "Are you one of my new doctors?" 

 

"Not unless you have any broken bones," you smile. 

 

He smiles back at you, "You must be Santana." 

 

You nod. You extend your hand to him and watch the tubes in his arms move as he shakes your hand. "Hiram Berry." 

 

You hook your foot around the stool and pull it to you like you do when you're at the schools, easily falling back onto it. You look up at the TV that's playing some kind of black and white movie. "Casablanca?" 

 

"Swing Time," he corrects you. 

 

You chuckle, "Sorry. Casablanca is the only movie I've ever seen without color." 

 

He laughs, "I don't know how you've gotten away with that for so long, being Rachel's friend." 

 

"My ears are burning," Rachel says, walking into the room with three styrofoam containers in her hand. She hands you one, then one to her dad, and she sits down in the chair between you and her dad with her own. Rachel smiles at you, "I hope you don't mind that I got you juice. It's inside of the box." 

 

"No problem," you open the box and lift out the bottle of apple juice.  

 

You all eat in relative silence as a dance sequence happens on the TV. Rachel whispers that she's in love with Grace Kelly and you all chuckle a little. Even though you've never seen her dance by herself, you know you have your own Grace Kelly. A blonde beauty with the most fluid movements. 

 

When the sequence is over, Rachel turns to her dad. "How do you feel?" 

 

"I feel great," he smiles at her. With an arm that has less tubes in it, he reaches over and pulls Rachel to him. She moves to sit on the bed and hugs him. He kisses her head and she rests her head on his chest. 

 

You feel the need to look away. You've never been privy to this kind of father/daughter affection. You've always felt inadequate around your dad. He wants you to be perfect. The perfect degree. The perfect job. The perfect spouse and perfect family. The perfect house and the perfect six figure income. He's very... persuasive in keeping you on track. You're surprised that you haven't heard from him since taking this job in Lima. 

 

Rachel slips off of the bed and sits back in her chair, "How was surgery?" 

 

"It was good," you nod and force a smile. "She'll have a full range of motion after she recovers, which is pretty good because her vertebrae were a wreck." 

 

"That's awesome," Rachel smiles. "I'm glad you found something that you like. I know working at the schools isn't ideal for someone with your elevated level of education." 

 

"It's kinda fun," you say. You don't want to admit it, but following your dad's line of work makes you happy. Being wrist deep in a patient and fixing them makes you happy. You take a bite of your sandwich, "The extra income is nice. I think I'm going to see if I can talk Brittany into letting me take her and Summer to Disney World sometime." 

 

"Oh Disney is so fun," Rachel looks back at her dad.  

 

"You were the prettiest princess sweetheart," Rachel's dad rubs her back. 

 

"I've never been," you confess. You went to Australia before you could spell, but you've never been to Disney World. 

 

"That is so sad," Rachel presses her hand to her chest. "You have to go. Brittany and Summer have never been either and they would be so fun to go with." 

 

You're regaled with tales of Berry family vacations until you have to go back to work. Hiram tells you that if he's ever in the hospital you should go say hi and you promise to do just that. You give Rachel a hug and then thank her for lunch. You hug Hiram as well before heading back to your car. 

 

As you're driving you wonder how your father's high standards effected your mom. You've never really talked about it. When you get to the school, you resolve to talk to your mom. You want to have a real talk with her. You need to know if that was what caused them to break up. And if that wasn't it, what was?

You text Brittany to tell her that you're going to get dinner and take it home to talk to your mom. She immediately texts back that she thinks that's a great idea. She asks if you can drop by the glee club meeting though. Mercedes is going to be there and she wants you to be there. 

 

You smile. You suppose you have time to drop by before going to get dinner. You tell Brittany you'll be there and then tell your mom that you're bringing dinner. 

 

When you walk into the glee club, you find that it is basically all the kids from the GSA. You're really surprised that Rachel is there, but you smile and high five Mercedes as you walk in.  

 

Rachel steps in front of the group. "Mr. Schue is sick so I offered to take charge." 

 

Brittany walks into the room and smiles at you. She moves to stand next to you and Mercedes. Rachel looks over at the group of you and smiles. "So Brittany is here to help a group of you with dancing and Sam will be here eventually to help with the instruments, but first Mercedes is going to show you how to bring the house down." 

 

Mercedes smiles and looks at you. You know what she's going to try to do and you shake your head. She just rolls her eyes and takes your hand. "Do you need me to open up a human so you can sing over it?" She pulls you into the middle of the room. "So, my girl Santana hasn't really sang in front of a lot of people before, but she's going to sing with me and it's going to be awesome." 

 

You raise your eyebrows and turn to Brittany, silently begging her to help you. She just smiles at you and takes a seat on a stool. Rachel drags two microphone stands into the middle of the room and directs you to them. 

 

Mercedes turns on the music and you find it's a song you know. It's also a song you love, so you go along with it. Right before the first words Mercedes leans over to you and says, "You take high and I'll take low." 

 

You only have a few seconds to gawk at her before she starts singing. You never take high. Not in the operating room and not when you sing alone in your car. 

 

When Mercedes points to you, you take the next verse, "Now I love you just the way I love that rag doll, but only now my love has grown."  

 

Mercedes blows you away with the power in her voice. You both sort of start bouncing with the music and as you sing to Brittany you point to her and crook your finger to beckon her to start participating. Then you do the same to Rachel. Neither of them start singing, but they start getting kids up and soon the entire club is involved in this duet, dancing around you and Mercedes while you belt out this song.  

 

"Oh baby," she sings and then you echo. You're both smiling so wide as you sing. You start fanning her as she sings and she smiles wider.  

 

Then when you both bring down the house, you high five each other and then hug. Rachel shoos he kids back to their seats and announces, "And that ladies and gentlemen is a performance." 

 

You have your arm around Mercedes and you're trying to catch your breath. That last note was brutal.  

"You need to do that more often," Mercedes laughs and pats your back. 

 

You check your phone and see that it's time for you to go. You smile and thank everyone. You hug Mercedes and Rachel. Then you hug Sam as he almost plows you over when he's running in. Brittany walks you out because she has to go to a meeting. 

 

"You are a really great singer," Brittany says, placing her hand on the small of your back.  

 

"Thanks," you smile, "I still haven't gotten to see you dance. I was actually thinking about that when I had lunch with Rachel and her dad." 

 

"Really?" Brittany asks, opening the door to the outside for you. 

 

You nod. "Someday I will see you dance." 

 

"Don't expect too much," Brittany kicks at the ground as you near your car. "I haven't taken a class in years." 

 

"I bet you're amazing," you kiss her cheek and pull your keys out of your pocket. "Any suggestions for me to take to my mom." 

 

"Breadstix," Brittany opens your door for you after you unlock it.  

 

You lean over the door and kiss her. "Do you need a ride?"

 

"No," Brittany shook her head. "I'll see you later." 

 

You put the key in your ignition and blow her a kiss. She smiles and closes your door.  

 

You run by Breadstix and hope that it's good. You call your mom and ask her what she wants. Then you pick it up and take it home. You get to eat at your brand new table which is your mom is happy for. You suppose it'll make your serious talk with your mom easier. 

 

She pours some wine for both of you and you set the food out. You take a bite of a breadstick and stop moving. It is the best breadstick you've ever had in your entire life. You take another bite and then hand your mom one. She enjoys it, but apparently not as much as you. You're ready to marry the breadstick. 

 

"Where's Brittany?" your mom asks. 

 

"At her house I guess," you shrug.  

 

Your mom picks up her fork to cut into her ravioli, "Why didn't you invite her and Summer over?" 

 

You finish off your breadstick and pick up another one, "Because I wanted to talk." 

 

Your mom's eyebrows rise. "About?" 

 

You take a sip of your wine and when you set the glass down you level with her, "I have some... questions about the divorce." 

 

She licks her lips and leans on the table, "What do you want to know?" 

 

"Um," you look down at the breadstick in your hand and set it on top of your fettuccini. "Why?" 

 

You see her body rise with a deep inhale. "I think it's just a culmination of everything that's been going on for years. I'm sure I did some things that he didn't like and he certainly did things that I didn't like." 

 

"Like what?" you ask, prodding her. 

 

She lifts her wine glass and takes a sip, "I don't think that really matters now." 

 

"It does to me," you say sincerely. 

 

"Your father has a way of thinking that has always been...idealistic. But somehow he's become convinced that the way he thinks is right and he can use whatever means necessary to make it into a reality," she brushes some of her hair away from her face. "Also, he leaves the toilet seat up." 

 

You don't take the bait that your mom threw out to make you smile and maybe change the subject. "I'm serious, Mom." You look down at your food. "I don't... Whatever happened I need to know." 

 

"Why?" your mom asks, tilting her head.  

 

You finally decide to lay your concerns out there. "Because whatever he did, I don't want to do that to Brittany and Summer. And I need to know if I had anything to do with your divorce and I want to know... I don't know ...everything." 

 

"Honey," your mom reaches across the table and takes your hand, "You and Brittany are not your father and me. For one, Brittany is a lot nicer to me." That one does get you to crack the tiniest of tiny smiles. "And you are not your father. Not even close." 

 

"Can you just... walk me through it?" you ask timidly. You don't know if you really want to know, but you feel as if you should at least try to listen.  

 

Your mom nods slowly and understandingly. "Alright." She takes a bite of her ravioli. "If it'll make you stop worrying." 

 

She starts by telling you how your father really just wanted the best for you and your mom, he just had a warped way of getting it. You've heard the story about how your dad lived in the projects of Chicago when he was a kid, but clawed his way up and blah blah blah. You've heard that story. Every single grade you ever got that was under a 'B' seemed to warrant a telling of that story. You skip your mom through that and try to get her to move on. 

 

"He still cares about you," your mom feels the need to add.  

 

"He cares about how he looks to other people," you throw in. 

 

Your mom nods, "He cares about that too, but he feels that the way other people see him and us, will affect our lives probably more than it does." 

 

You've never really had this kind of candid talk about your dad. It was always just, "That's how he is, honey" or "Just do what he says." You find yourself fascinated by all the things he does. Sometimes he did things that were kind when he thought they were warranted and sometimes he went too far without really thinking about it. 

 

"Everyone you've ever dated has had extensive background checks," your mom admits.  

 

You blink, "Have you told him about Brittany?" 

 

Your mom shakes her head, "I told your Aunt Helena though. She may have told him." 

 

You don't really expect any discrepancies in Brittany's history. Not that it matters to you. 

 

“Remember when he took your car away because he found out your boyfriend was barely passing Calculus?” your mom asks.

 

You smile remembering that. It’s funny now. You were furious then. “How did he even find that out?”

 

“I have no idea,” your mom smiles back. “I didn’t like to ask questions.”

 

Both of your quiet laughing fades out and the smiles completely vanish from your faces. You tap your fork on the table. "How are you handling it?" 

 

She takes a deep breath. "I'm fine." 

 

"Really Mom," you say, trying to get her to be honest. You know she doesn't want to burden you with too much. Getting what you've already gotten was like pulling teeth. 

 

She sighs and puts her fork down. "It's scary. We've been married for almost thirty years. I haven't been alone for longer than that because we were engaged for year and dated for two before that." 

 

You feel for your mother. It must be frightening to be on her own. 

 

"It's exciting too," she tells you. "I can finally... do whatever I want. I don't have to care what other people think. I went to the grocery store this afternoon without putting my make-up on for the first time in over ten years. I think I'm going to start painting." 

 

You smile at your mom. You're glad that she's happy as well. She seems freer. She hasn't fussed at you for the way you're sitting either.  

 

"You can stay here as long as you want to," you tell her. "I actually like that you're here in town." 

 

She smiles and takes your hand against across the table. "Thank you, sweetheart. But I don't know how much longer I can have you sleeping on the couch."  

 

"My couch is great," you assure her. "I'm fine. I promise." 

 

After dinner, you clean up and sit with your mom on the couch. "Do you really like Brittany?" 

 

"I love Brittany," your mom smiles at you, "And Summer." 

 

You smile back, "Good. Because I love them too." Your smile fades and you look at your phone where your dad tried to contact you last night. "What do you think Daddy is going to think?" 

 

Your mom immediately opens her mouth, but you interrupt her. "Tell me honestly."

 

Your mom then takes a moment. She takes a deep breath and looks over at you. "He won't like that she's a teacher. He always wanted you with someone who made at least as much as you. Remember when he tried to set you up with that attorney?" 

 

"He was awful," you roll your eyes.  

 

"I know, but your dad wants someone who can take care of you," your mom offers you a small smile, "Not that you need it. But I think once your dad realizes that Brittany takes excellent care of you, he'll love her like I do." 

 

You smile and hug your mom. She kisses your head and tells you that she loves you. Then she asks if you would like to accompany her on a late night run to get some ice cream. You have fun and don't talk about anything serious for the rest of the night. When you get home you decide to go to bed, but not before texting Brittany. 

 

_I miss you._

 

It's lame and cheesy, but it's all kinds of true. 

 

_I miss you too. Summer and I were just talking about you._

 

_What were you talking about?_

                                

_Summer told me that you make a better fire than I do. She's right. It's a sad fire tonight._

 

You smile at your phone and text back. _Maybe I'll teach you someday_.  

 

_Or you could just come over every night and make one for us._

 

You swallow and wonder if you're reading too much into that last text. You'd be lying if you said you hadn't been thinking about wanting to live with them, at least part-time. Sure you sleep over occasionally, but not enough for your liking.  

 

You roll over on the couch and pull your blanket up. It is getting colder. _I would love to._  

 

After a few seconds, your phone buzzes again. _Can I call? Summer wants to say goodnight._  

 

You don't reply. You just call her. A little girl's voice answers, "Hi Santana." 

 

"Hey sweetie," you smile, "Is it time to go to bed?" 

 

"Yeah," Summer sighs. "I don't wanna, but Mommy said so." 

 

"Well you have to listen to Mommy," you tell her. "Did you have a good day?" 

 

"I guess," she huffs. 

 

You chuckle because she's tired and cranky. "Sweet dreams, Summer." 

 

"Thank you," she replies sleepily, "Goodnight Santana." 

 

"Goodnight," you answer.  

 

There's some rustling on the other end of the line and the next voice you hear is Brittany, "Hey." 

 

"Hey," you reply. 

 

"Are you in bed already?" she asks softly.

 

"Yeah," you answer, "I had a long talk with my mom so we decided to call it a night early." 

 

"I'm glad you got to talk," she says, "Are you okay?" 

 

You look up at the darkened ceiling, "Yeah. I feel like I didn't know so much growing up." 

 

"Kids usually don't," Brittany says softly.  

 

"You're right," you turn again on the couch. "How are you?" 

 

"I'm good," she says. "I'm really craving chocolate cupcakes though. How was Breadstix?" 

 

"It was amazing," you say pushing your blanket off of you and standing up off of the couch. You find a jacket on the back of one of the dining chairs and pull it on. Then you slip on some of your boots that are by the door. Your purse is over your shoulder as you open the door. "The breadsticks were the best things ever." 

 

Brittany chuckles, "I thought you'd like them." 

 

You keep asking her about her day as you quickly stop by the store and keep driving. By the time she tells you about what she made for dinner, you are getting out of your car. 

 

"Are you outside? It sounds windy," Brittany comments.  

 

You grin and hop up the steps, "Yeah. I'm outside. So come open the door because it's cold." 

 

"You're here?" Brittany asks and a few seconds later you hear the locks on the front door click back. 

 

Brittany opens the door and her mouth drops open. "What are you doing here?" 

 

You hang up your phone and hold out the container in your hands.  

 

Brittany takes it from you and opens the top of the box. "You got me cupcakes." 

 

You nod with a smile. "Well, goodnight." 

 

You start to turn away, but Brittany grabs your arm and turns you around. Her lips crash against yours. She pulls you inside and closes the door. She breaks the kiss only for a moment to pull you into the living room and sits you on the couch.  

 

Then she sets the cupcakes and her phone on the coffee table. She sits next to you and pushes your hair away from your face. "Thank you so much." 

 

You just smile at her, taking in her face. The way her eyes seem to be sparkling in the dying firelight. The look of pure adoration that just warms your whole body. 

 

You lean toward her and brush your lips against hers. You keep it short and sweet adding, "I love you," as you pull away. 

 

"I love you too," she smiles softly. She takes your hand and laces your fingers together. "I know you probably have to go home and go to bed. You've had a long day, but can you stay for a few minutes?" 

 

"Of course," you keep your fingers linked with hers as you put your arm around her. You pull her to you and lean back in the corner of the couch. You kick off your boots and pull your legs up onto the cushions. Brittany settles between your legs and rests her head on your chest.  

 

You feel like you could lie like this forever with her. You love that you can just kiss her and tell her you love her without feeling too clingy or as if you're the only one that feels that way.

 

She gets one of the cupcakes out of the box and takes a bite. She hums her approval and she offers you a bite. You shake your head. "Mom took me out for ice cream. I'm all sugar-ed out." 

 

Brittany chuckles. "I understand." She finishes off the cupcake and then looks up at you. "Thank you." She kisses you and you can taste the chocolate on her lips.  

 

"Mmm, good cupcakes," you smile. 

 

She laughs and puts her head back on your chest. You're not sure how long you just laid like that together, but eventually Brittany tells you that if you're going home, you should leave now or you'll be too tired. 

 

You're tempted to stay, but you didn't tell your mom you were leaving and you don't have any clothes for work. You kiss her at the door and then give her a tight hug, wishing her a goodnight. 

 

You make it home and fall on the couch. You're really ready to go to sleep. You wrap your blanket around yourself and pretend that it's Brittany's arms around you. You smile and roll into the back of the couch, easily drifting off thinking about sleeping with Brittany on the couch in front of the fire. 

 

When you wake up and start getting ready, you learn an important life lesson. That is the last time you take your phone into the bathroom with you while you get ready in the morning. You swear your phone jumped into the toilet and you have to use some of your spare latex gloves to get it out. Your mom laughs at you the entire time. She finds it hilarious when she walks into your bedroom and finds you running past her with your cell phone in your bathroom garbage can. You just chunk it into the dumpster outside because there is no way that thing is ever going near your face again. 

 

The worst part about breaking your phone is that you can't call everyone and tell them that you've broken it. Your mom is going to stay at your apartment and Brittany will be over later so it won't really be a huge problem you hope. You'll grab one tomorrow before work because you're already behind in getting ready.  

 

After you scrub your hands clean enough for surgery, you get back on track. Your mom brings you coffee as you wash your face. "Thanks mom." 

 

"I'm going to go have lunch with some friends," your mom leans on the doorframe, "Just so you don't come home to bring your dear old mother lunch." 

 

You smile and flip your hair over to put it up, "If only I had a dear old mother." 

 

She chuckles and sips her coffee. When your hair is up, your mom steps up to you and gives you a hug, "I'm proud of you Santana." 

 

You're not sure why she said that or really why she's proud of you, but you accept the hug and her pride. She also toasted a bagel for you so you grab that as you're running out the door. 

 

You pull to a stop at a stoplight and half of your cream cheesed bagel falls onto your pants. You curse and try to clean it up as you roll up to the admin building and sigh. This day just doesn't seem to be going all that well for you. 

 

When you get to work you discover a mountain of paperwork and a memo from the superintendent explaining that you are now in charge of all the medical supplies for all the schools. You now get to order them and keep them stocked. 

 

So after two games of solitaire and an entire fiscal year of crumpled up paper trashcan basketballs, you decided to actually get to work. You open up a spreadsheet and wish that you had taken any kind of business class.  

 

As you sit at your desk, there's a knock on your door. You look up and see a young man with huge vase of very colorful flowers. The man walks up to you and you stand to take it from him. "Dr. Santana Lopez?" 

 

You nod, "That's me." That's also weird. Brittany, who you assume these are from, wouldn't have put 'doctor' in front of your name. Maybe it was so that this guy could find your office. 

 

When the flowers are safely on your desk you smell them and smile. You have a to dig a little, but you find the card. You open it and start reading: I couldn't reach you on your phone. I'm going to be in town for a few days. I'm staying at the Lima Historia. I'd like to have lunch with you if you have time. You can just swing by the hotel lobby whenever you'd like. - Dad. 

 

You sit down in your chair, your mouth slightly open. Your dad is in town. You wonder if your mom knows. You guess he called you last night to tell you that he's in town. But why Lima? Why now? 

 

You look the card over again. You tap it on the desk a few times and finally decide that you'll go see him. He is your dad after all. You look on your desk where your phone usually is. You're just itching to text Brittany and tell her what's going on. You love telling her everything. Mostly because you feel like she wants to know.  

 

You get as much work done as you can and make your rounds before heading to the hotel where your dad is staying. It's probably the nicest hotel in Lima. It's in the downtown area and is in one of the more historic buildings. You drop your car with the valet. It's something you're used to doing with all the shopping you used to do in the busiest areas of Chicago. Before you decided get rid of most of your clothes, donating them to charity and then moving to Lima. 

 

Inside, there are marble floors and a huge chandelier. It's smaller than most hotels you've been in with those features. It's kinda cute though. You walk up to the front desk and lean on the polished gray marble. "Hi, I'm looking for-" 

 

"Santana!" you hear your dad call. 

 

You can't help, but become excited when you turn around and see him walking toward you. His approval is always something you've chased so when he's smiling at you like he is, you feel great. He looks dapper as usual in a charcoal grey suit with a dark blue shirt underneath. 

 

As he approaches, his smile fades. "Oh my god, what happened to your eye?" your father takes you by the shoulders, looking over your face, "Did she hit you?" 

 

You blink. You have no idea what he's talking about. "What?" 

 

"This... woman you're seeing?" he lets go of your shoulders and tucks his phone into the breast pocket of his jacket. "Did she hit you?" 

 

You quickly shake your head. "No. Brittany would never do that. We were camping and Summer dropped a rock while I was laying on the ground. It was an accident." 

 

"Who is Summer?" your dad's eyes just bore into you. Like they always have. 

 

You border on feeling uncomfortable and swallow, "Summer is Brittany's daughter." 

 

Your dad's eyebrows raise up close to his hairline and his hands perch on his hips, "She has a kid? And she's a teacher?" 

 

You don't even stop to ask how he knows everything about her. "There's nothing wrong with that," you add, narrowing your eyes. If he's going to try to challenge you this time, it's not going to work. You're not a kid anymore and you're going to stand your ground.  

 

And you feel strongly about that until his face relaxes. "Of course," he smiles at you. You're not sure if it's a real smile or not. You can never tell with your dad. He's always had the best poker face.

 

“How did you know about her anyway?” you ask, still trying to stay on the defensive.

 

He puts his hands in his pockets, “Your mother told your aunt.” Then he puts his arm around your shoulders and he guides you as you both start walking out of the lobby, effectively ending the discussion about Brittany. "Let's go have lunch. We can talk about this brilliant surgery I've been hearing so much about." 

 

He asks you where you'd like to go, but you don't have a preference so he gets a recommendation from the concierge who recommends a well-ranked steak house down the street.  

 

As you walk with your dad, he asks you about your apartment and your job at the school. He asks you about the operating rooms at your hospital and you have a discussion all the way into the restaurant about the instruments you use for your major bone repairs. 

 

The maitre d’ wants to have you wait ten minutes, but your dad slips him a bill. How much you don't know, but you've always been in awe of how smooth your dad is with things like that. You're immediately seated.  

He pulls your chair out for you and then has a seat across the table from you. He opens the menu and jokes, "How fresh do you think the lobster is here?" 

 

You just laugh. Then he asks you to explain what you did during your first major surgery by yourself. You like that you can explain it to him in detail because he'll understand. Because he does the same thing. 

 

You get halfway into your salad and your story of the operation when his phone rings. He smiles at you, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Excuse me." He stands up and walks away from the table. 

 

You spear a tomato slice and huff. What else should you expect? You've never had his full attention during anything in your entire life. Why should you now that you've finished the med school he wanted you to go to with the specialty he wanted you to have? 

 

When he returns he smiles, "Sorry. The office. It's a wonder that they can go on without me." He seats himself and puts his napkin in his lap. "So when you got in there, it was worse than the x-ray. Was it that shattered?" 

 

You nod emphatically. "There were shards all over the place." You’re angry with yourself for being so invested in having your dad's approval.

 

You finish explaining the surgery, perhaps scaring off a group of people who sat down behind you and then left abruptly after you describe some gory details. Just as your dad finishes his New York strip, you tell him how you sewed up the leg. 

 

The walk back to the hotel is nice and when you get inside your dad gives you a hug at his hotel and tells you that he has an appointment, but he loves you. He promises that he'll visit you later. Then suggests that you meet for drinks in the hotel bar after you get off of work. You tell him that you'd like that and he hugs you again.

 

Before you go back to your office, you drop by the elementary school. You walk by Brittany's classroom and find it empty. Then you go to the teacher's lounge. She's not in there, but Tina tells you that she got a phone call and left, but she promised to be back before class started again. You ask her if it has anything to do with Summer and Tina shakes her head. "I just saw her playing outside." 

 

You nod. "Well thanks, Tina. I'll see you later." 

 

She smiles and waves. You walk out and down the hallway, disappointed that Brittany's not here. You really wanted to see her and tell her what happened today. 

 

Your disappointment only grows as you go through your day with no way to call anyone. Obviously you have your office phone, but you have no idea what anyone's phone number is. You drop by your apartment to change and your mom isn't there. You leave her a note that you'll get dinner on the way home and head to have drinks with your dad.  

 

You're starting to think this day is complete shit as you sit at the bar by yourself. You had your dad paged ten minutes ago from the front desk and he's still not here. So you dive into your mojito and watch the pianist play. He's kinda cute with his blue jacket with red piping. His hair is greased down so much he looks like he's from the twenties, but he's got a nice voice. 

 

"Hey, sweetheart," your dad's voice rips your away from the man at the piano and you turn to him. He doesn't look as happy as he did earlier. In fact he looks upset. He orders a whiskey and picks it up as soon as it touches the bar. 

 

"What's going on?" you frown and take a sip of your drink.  

 

He takes a deep breath and folds his hands in front of himself. "I did something that I felt I had to do and you may not agree with it, but it came from a place of love and my need to protect you." 

 

You straighten up. A whole long list of things flash through you brain. You have no idea what he could be talking about. Knowing your dad, it could literally be anything. 

 

When you don't say anything he goes on. "Many of my friends have entered into... situations like you are in." He looks over at you and you stare into his dark eyes trying to figure out what the hell is going on. "And it didn't end well for them. I don't want that to happen to you. So I went to see Brittany today and I made her an offer." 

 

Your eyes automatically get huge. You open your mouth to.... to.... yell or to question him. You're not sure which, but he puts his hand up and stops you. You just glare at him as he takes a breath to keep talking. 

 

"I wrote her a check for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars," he tells you and rolls his whiskey tumbler between his hands. "I told her that she could have it if she left you alone." 

 

You stand up off of your stool. You can't believe your dad would do something like that. It's appalling and deplorable. It's so damn infuriating. You start walking toward the door of the bar. You don't know if you can – 

 

"She took it." 

 

You stop dead in your tracks. Your hand is on the door and you feel your whole body just calcify. Your mouth is immediately dry. You must have heard him wrong. You barely turn your head and breathlessly ask, "What?"

 

"She took it," he slowly rises from his stood and straightens his shirt.  

 

You don't think... It can't be possible can it?... Your whole body goes numb. You feel your father's heavy hand on your shoulder. He's saying things like it'll be okay and you're better off without her.  

 

You can't believe it though. The way Brittany looked at you... it couldn't have been a lie. Maybe something happened that you don't know about. Maybe she took the money for Summer. You can't really expect to be a priority over Summer, not that you'd ever want to be, but still... You'd have given her anything she and Summer could have ever wanted. 

 

"Why don't I take you home?" he asks gently, putting his hand on your shoulder. 

 

You shake your head and shake off his hand. You're angry now. He could have just left you alone. Even if everything was a lie, you would have been happy just living in it. She can have it all. All your money, all your stuff, your car, your credit cards, your trusts. You just love the way she makes you feel. You narrow your eyes at your dad, "You've done enough." 

 

You barely register stalking out of the bar and to get your car. You barely remember going by the liquor store, but the first thing you finally, actually feel is the burn of the scotch going down your throat as you walk up to your apartment. 

 

Your mom is in your apartment when you walk in and drop your keys on the table or the ground, whatever. You unscrew the lid to the bottle and drop it on the table or ground... whatever. When you plop down on the couch, your mom immediately walks over to you and asks you what's going on.  

 

"I went to see Dad," you huff and lift the bottle to your lips. 

 

Your mom looks at the bottle in your hand and takes it away, placing it on your new table. "What happened?" 

 

"He wrote Brittany a check for two hundred and fifty grand," you say weakly from your place in the corner of the couch. "He said she could have it if she left me." 

 

You see the fire in your mother's eyes flare. "He did what?!" She starts pacing around, yelling in Spanish about how horrible he is and how reprehensible, trying to ruin his daughter's happiness.  

 

You're about to tell her the rest of the story, the part where Brittany takes the check, when she sees something that captures her interest, immediately shutting her up. Before you can ask her what it is, she's out the door. You push up off of the couch and see your dad walking toward your apartment, the flaps of his blazer fluttering with the wind.  

 

Your mom practically runs up to your dad who stops in the middle of the sidewalk. She immediately starts yelling in Spanish and your dad starts yelling back. She's asking him things like how could he do that to his own daughter and your dad asks how she's so blind.  

 

You can't do anything. You can't find it in yourself to move at all. You're just staring at them yelling at each other.  

 

Then your mom slaps your dad across the face. It stuns both you and your dad. Then you see his fists clench and you're scared of what he's about to do. You've never seen him this mad. 

 

Just when it looks like he's moving his arm up, you see Brittany appear next to them. You don't know where she came from and you pray that Summer isn't with her. You see Brittany look in your direction before talking to both of your parents. Your dad turns to her and points at her as he speaks. Brittany puts her hands up and gestures to your apartment. 

 

Your dad doesn't look like he takes too kindly to what she's saying, but eventually the three of them start moving toward your apartment. 

 

You don't know if you can handle having any of them around you right now. You grab your bottle of scotch and dart into your bedroom, closing and locking the door. You lean back against the door and let yourself slide to the ground. You rest the glass on the wooden floor as you hear the front door open.  

 

"Santana?" your mom calls. 

 

You don't answer. You just sit there. You didn't remember when you started crying and you don't see a stopping point in the near future. Everything has just gone to shit so quickly. 

 

There's a knock on the door. It's your mom again, "Santana? Honey open the door." 

 

"Don't be a child," your dad demands, "Open the door." 

 

"Don't talk to her like that," your mom says angrily. 

 

Your dad says something in Spanish about you needing to grow up and your mom needing to mind her own business. You can hear their fight start to move away from the door. You let out a breath before you feel something bump into your hand that's pressed to the floor. You jerk your hand away and see a little blue piece of paper sticking out from under the door.  

 

You pick it up and see that it's folded. When you unfold it you see that it's the check your dad wrote Brittany. On the front of it in red marker is simply written, "I love you." 

 

You reach up behind you and unlock the door. You scoot out of the way enough for Brittany to step in and the close and lock it again. You turn so that your back is against the wall perpendicular to the door. She sits down on the ground across from you, her back against your dresser.  

 

"Why'd you take it in the first place?" you ask quietly, the check dangling between your fingers. 

 

Brittany draws her knees up to herself so that her hands are hidden behind them. Her eyes don't quite meet yours. "I didn't know if you'd believe me if I just told you what your dad said. I’m not sure if I really believed that he did that. I thought proof would help." 

 

You just look at her for a moment before you involuntarily sniffle. You wipe your eyes and Brittany moves to sit against the wall next to you. "Do you want me to ask your parents or your dad to leave? I can leave too... if you want." 

 

You shake your head, feeling the tears build in your eyes. Brittany reaches up toward your face, but retracts her hand. She bites her lip. "Can I...?" She starts lifting her hand again. 

 

You nod slowly, her hesitation hurting you all that much more. Her hand gently cups your cheek, sliding to the back of your neck and pulling your head onto her shoulder.  

 

"I'm so sorry," you manage to get out before you start sobbing. You feel so bad. Brittany's world seems so serene. Her parents are great. Her kid is great. Every mentally stable person in town loves her and even a few unstable people, cough cough, Quinn. And here you and your family drop a bomb on her perfect world.  

Her arms envelope you and you lean into her. She kisses your forehead and holds you tighter. "It's not your fault. Not at all." 

 

You squeeze your eyes shut. You don't think you can stop crying though. A few minutes later you're laying across the bedroom floor with your head in Brittany's lap. She's been diligently stroking your hair since you ended up on the ground. 

 

"I wish they'd shut up," you sigh as you listen to your parents still going at it. They're not yelling exactly. Their voices are slightly elevated. Enough for you to hear it through the door.  

 

"Do you want me to go ask them to leave?" Brittany asks softly. 

 

You shake your head. You sit up and wipe your eyes. Again you hurt yourself because you forgot about your rock injury. 

 

Brittany holds your face in her hands and looks at your eyes. "Summer keeps asking about your eye." 

You break a smile, "She worries like you do." 

 

"It's because we love you," Brittany gently kisses the bruise on your face and then presses her lips to yours.  

You hold her eyes when she breaks the kiss and say in a way that you hope she takes to heart, "I love you both so much. And I never, ever thought that you wanted to use me for anything." 

 

She nods. "I know. I've honestly never thought that you thought that and I've never thought about you having money, honestly. You're just smart and beautiful and funny to me. You love Summer and Summer loves you. That's all I could ever ask for." 

 

You look over her face and see all the sincerity you've always known. You don't know why you doubted her for a second or why you let your dad make you think that Brittany could be any kind of gold digger. You apologize again. 

 

"I forgive you even though you didn't do anything wrong," she stands up and holds her hands out to you. "C'mon." 

 

"Where are we going?" you glance at the door, not wanting to go out there where your parents are still arguing. You let Brittany pull you to your feet and then watch her step into your closet. She hands you some of your brown boots. 

 

You look at the boots. "I'm wearing black pants. I can't wear brown boots." 

 

Brittany quirks an eyebrow at you. You give in and sit on your bed to put them on. When you get your second one on you look behind you and see Brittany opening your bedroom window. She carefully removes the screen and straddles the windowsill. She slides out of the window, landing on the ground right outside your window, in the middle of a row of bushes.  

 

You walk over to her and she holds her hand out for you. You take her hand and sort of fall out the window. Brittany laughs and catches you, managing to set you on your feet. You help her hop out of the bushes and you both run toward her car hand in hand. 

 

"Where are we going?" you ask as Brittany pulls out of the parking lot of your apartment complex. 

 

She shrugs. "I don't know. Where do you want to go?" 

 

"I want to watch you dance," you tell her. 

 

She furrows her eyebrows and looks over at you, "Are you sure?" 

 

You nod with a smile. "Please?" 

 

She reaches over and takes your hand. "Okay." She turns on a road that's in the opposite direction of her house where you assumed you would go. 

 

She pulls to a stop in the parking lot of the high school. It's empty because it's way after hours. Brittany gets out though and grabs a bag from the backseat that you didn't notice before. She takes your hand and pulls your toward the doors.  

 

She thumbs through the keys on her ring and uses a key to open the outside door. Then she leads you through the hallway and into another doorway. Inside you find an auditorium. You’ve walked past these doors many times, but never opened them or saw what was there. It's huge and only lit by a few lights on the stage.

 

She holds your hand as you walk down the stairs and she sits you down in the fourth row up from the stage. "Shall I hip hop, jazz, or contemporary?" 

 

"Whatever you want," you give her a kiss. You feel like this is something that is a privilege to see and you're just happy to be able to see it.  

 

She looks down at the stage and nods. "Okay." Then she walks to the stage, hops up on it and disappears backstage. You wait for a few minutes just looking around. Then music starts playing. It's a great acoustic guitar riff over a deep, but soft bass. Brittany just walks out to the middle of the stage. She's changed into some tight black shorts and a green v-neck.  

 

You watch as she starts moving to the music. As she moves, it's so smooth and fluid. She completely captivates you. What she's doing is beautiful and amazing. You don't think you've ever seen anything like it.  

 

You have no idea how long it's been, but you would watch so much more. You'd stay in that seat for hours just watching her.  

 

You're leaned forward in your seat with your hands over your mouth. She walks to the edge of the stage and shields her eyes. "Hey Coach." 

 

She's not looking at you so you turn around and almost jump out of your chair when you see an older woman in a red tracksuit sitting behind you. The woman nods to Brittany, "Outstanding as always." 

 

Brittany smiles, "Thanks." She walks behind the stage and the music goes off. 

 

"Hi," you say awkwardly, "I'm Santana." 

 

"Sue Sylvester," she states, "Brittany has told me about you." 

 

"Really?" you ask, wondering who she is that Brittany shares what's going on in her life.

 

Sue nods, "I was trained by the United States Special Forces, if you hurt her, I'll make sure you're never seen from again." 

 

Your eyes grow wide and you look away, nodding and mumbling your agreement. 

 

"Brittany is outstanding isn't she?" Sue asks, looking back at the stage.  

 

You nod, in agreement, "She is." 

 

"She has so much potential," Sue stands up and you decide to stand as well. You don't necessarily trust her standing behind you. 

 

You look up at her, "What do you mean?" 

 

"She's amazing and that's just training in Lima," Sue gestures to the stage. "If she went to a real conservatory she could be the best in the world." 

 

You let that sink into your brain and before you can reply, Brittany ascends the stairs next to you. 

 

Her coach tells her how well she did and that she always enjoys watching Brittany. Sue shoots you one last warning glare before she leaves the auditorium. 

 

Brittany starts walking up the stairs and you follow her. "What did Coach say to you?" 

 

"She told me that if I hurt you, no one would ever hear from me again," you tell Brittany. You're not sure if it was a joke or not. 

 

Brittany laughs, but doesn't tell you it's a joke. Not that you ever plan on hurting Brittany. You're just a little spooked. You sort of expect to look out your bedroom window one night and see Sue standing there with camo paint on her face watching you with night vision goggles. 

 

She takes you to a drive in restaurant on the outskirts of town and you both get burgers, fries, and shakes. It goes great until the waitress brings out the check and you reach for where your purse usually is when you're in Brittany's car. Of course you don't have it, but Brittany says, "Just…I'll get it okay?"

 

You frown and watch as she pays for dinner. Then when the waitress walks off Brittany looks at you. Then she quickly looks away, seeing the look on your face.  

 

Your dad has brought up an issue that's never been an issue before. Sure you pay for a lot of things and usually you have to fight Brittany to anyway, but sometimes you win. You like buying things for Summer. You like taking Brittany to dinner. You've actually been looking at necklaces online to get for Brittany. You don't mind any of it. You'd give her everything. 

 

You sigh softly and look out the window. You lean back in your seat.  

 

Brittany turns the car on and backs out of the spot. When she gets on the road back into town, she reaches over and takes your hand. "I'm sorry," she tells you softly and kisses the back of your hand. 

 

You shrug and look over at her. "It's not a big deal. I just don't want what my dad tried to do to bring up an issue that's not really an issue." 

 

"I just..." Brittany trails off. "It's not something we've ever talked about." 

 

"Because it's not an issue," you reiterate. 

 

"If it ever did become an issue would you tell me?" she asks, glancing over at you before looking back at the road. 

 

"What do you mean?" you ask. "How would it be an issue?" 

 

Brittany tilts her head. "I don't know. I just... we're doing so awesome right now. I don't want it to become an issue." 

 

"Pull over," you tell her.  

 

She does as you request and pulls to a stop on the side of the road. She puts the car in park and looks at you.  

 

You turn in your seat to look directly at her. "This will not become an issue. I'm sorry that my dad is trying to sabotage the first relationship I've ever been in that makes me truly happy. But I love you and I want to do everything to make you happy. Summer too. And I'm going to keep fighting you to pay for things." You offer her a light smile, "And sometimes your cute smile isn't going to work and I'm going to pay for things." She smiles and let out a breath as you keep going. "I don't think now and I will never think that you want me for my money. Even if I go full time to the hospital and make a shitload more than I am now. I trust you. I know it's not something that you'd be open to right now, but I'd put you on all my accounts." You lean forward and kiss her. Before you fully pull away, you kiss her again. You look into her eyes and can't help, but smile. "Brittany you are the sweetest, most beautiful person I've ever met. Your heart is so wonderful."  

 

In the fading sun, you think that you see her blush. She looks back at you and smile. "I love you. And you're right about your accounts. Maybe later." 

 

She turns back to the steering wheel, "Are you staying with me tonight? I have to go pick up Summer soon." 

 

"No," you look down at your fingers that are tangled in Brittany's. "I need to go home. I need to make sure my dad is gone and my mom is okay." 

 

"Do you want me to come with you?" she asks you as she turns onto your street. 

 

"Will you?" you ask. You feel guilty for asking her to go with you because she's already been through enough because of your family, but you don't know how you'll react if your dad is there. 

 

"Of course," she kisses the back of your hand again.  

 

When you get to your apartment, you feel really apprehensive. You pause in front of the sidewalk and just look at your apartment. You can see the windows. The lights are on, but you can't get your feet to move.  

Brittany walks up behind you and slips her arm around your waist, "We can just go to my house if you want." 

 

You shake your head. "I have to check on my mom." 

 

Brittany nods and kisses the side of your head. "Okay." She gives you a gentle push and you both start walking toward your apartment. 

 

She opens the door for you and walks in first, surveying the room before letting you in. You see your mom sitting on the couch, a tissue in her hand. She sits up and stands when she sees you and Brittany. 

 

"I thought you were both still in the bedroom," she walks over to you and gives you a hug. 

 

You shake your head, "We snuck out the window." 

 

Brittany touches your back and you turn to her, "I'm going to go unlock your door okay?" 

 

You nod slowly and watch her walk out of your apartment.  

 

"I'm sorry that your father and I were fighting like that," your mom looks around, "Especially in your home." 

 

"Well, what Dad did was beyond… " You want to say ‘shitty’, but since you’re talking to your mom you say, “horrible.” You look around and don't see anything out of place. There is a large stack of papers on the coffee table. "What's that?" 

 

"That is the real reason your father was in town," she takes a deep breath. "Those are the divorce papers. I should have told you he was coming." 

 

You nod and look over the large bundle of papers that will officially mean that your parents are divorced. You lick your lips, "I'm going to go get some water," you say. You just need a minute by yourself. In the kitchen you can hear your bedroom door open and your mom talking to Brittany. You get your water and pause before going back into the living room. 

 

"I'm so sorry you had to see what happened this afternoon," your mom apologizes. "But I have to thank you so, so much for taking care of Santana." 

 

"It's really no problem," Brittany answers, "I'll take care of her as long as she'll let me." 

 

"You're an amazing woman Brittany," your mom says, "And I'm so glad that you and Santana are together. I've never seen her smile as widely as she does when you're here." 

 

You decide that that's enough bonding for them for tonight. You're tired and you're sure it's only a matter of time before your mom busts out the baby pictures. You're sure your mom and Brittany are exhausted too. You take your glass with you into the living room and walk slowly. "I'm so ready for bed." 

 

"Me too," your mom says. She gathers up the divorce papers and puts them back in the envelope. Then she walks into the bedroom, saying that she's putting them up. 

 

You set your glass down and turn to Brittany, wrapping your arms around her neck. "Please tell me I can see Summer tomorrow." You need to hang out with that brilliant little girl. She always makes your day so much brighter. 

 

"Of course," Brittany holds you around your waist, "How about you take Summer after school and I will take your mom shopping and to dinner?" 

 

"Why do you want to take my mom?" you ask, too tired to make the stink face you want to. 

 

"Because she's getting a divorce and while you're at work or with me, she's alone in Lima," Brittany tells you. "It's not the most exciting place in the world to be. Also she might want to talk and I know she has you, but sometimes it's easier to talk to someone who is not your daughter." 

 

You nod and kiss Brittany. "How did you get so sweet?"  

 

When your mom returns, Brittany asks if she wants to have dinner tomorrow night and maybe do some shopping.  

 

Your mom smiles, "Be careful offering to take me shopping." 

 

"It'll be fun," Brittany smiles back. 

 

When your mom accepts, they make plans. You're going to drive your mom to Brittany's house and they're going to leave while you stay with Summer. It sounds like a great plan. 

 

You walk Brittany out to her car. She leans back on the driver's side door and pulls you to her. She gives you a kiss and then looks over your face, "Are you sure you're going to be okay tonight?" 

 

You nod, "Thank you so much." You wrap your arms around her shoulders, pulling your bodies together. The way she holds you makes you feel safe and protected. She makes you feel like everything that can go wrong will never touch you because you've got her. "I love you." 

 

"I love you too," you look up at her, kiss her again before letting her leave to go pick up Summer. "Goodnight Santana." 

 

You wave from the curb, "Goodnight Britt." 

 

When you walk inside, you find your mom on the couch. She looks up and you drop down on the couch next to her and put your head in her lap. 

 

"Are you okay?" your mom asks.  

 

You nod. "I love you Mom. I'm sorry we left you alone with Dad." 

 

"I can handle your father," your mom tells you with a soft smile as she pushes your hair away from your face. "I'm glad you left." 

 

"Brittany dances," you tell her. "Today is the first time that I've seen her dance, but it's incredible." 

 

"Really?" your mom asks. 

 

You nod. "Her old cheerleading coach watched too. She said that if Brittany went to a real conservatory she could be the best in the world." 

 

"That's interesting," your mom says and looks down at you. "Have you talked to her about it?" 

 

"About what?" you look up at your mom. 

 

"Dance," your mom says. 

 

You shake your head. That wasn't really on your mind today. You go on to explain how Brittany got weird about you trying to pay even though you didn't have your purse.  

 

"I'm sorry," your mom kisses your forehead, "But if anyone can get over what your father did, it's Brittany. She's so kind and so in love with you." 

 

You sit up and stretch. "Thanks. I think I'm going to go to bed though." 

Your mom stands up and picks up the blanket at the end of the couch. You lie down and she covers you with it. No matter how old you are, you love that feeling. Then she kisses your head and tells you to sleep well.


	16. Don't Leave My Mind by Azure Ray

As you're driving your mom to Brittany's house, you warn her. "Be nice, Mom."

 

"I like Brittany," she says, fixing her lipstick in the mirror, "I'm nice to her."

 

"Just," you sigh, "She's already been through way more than her fair share of parental insanity on my part. I just want today to go really smoothly for her. She needs to relax."

 

"I promise that I'm not going to go crazy," your mom assures you as you pull to a stop in front of Brittany's house.

 

"Thank you," you say and get out of the car. You smile when you remember that you get to spend the entire evening to spend with Summer. You don't really have a plan of what you want to do with her, but you'll probably just let her decide.

You knock on the door with your mom behind you and Brittany opens it. She smiles and hugs you. Then she hugs your mom.

 

"Summer wanted me to tell you that you are going to play hide and seek and she is already hiding," Brittany jerks her head toward the couch where there is a noticeable lump under a blanket on the couch.

 

You smile and nod, "Awesome. I'll definitely try to find her."

 

Brittany turns to your mom, "Are you ready?"

 

"Of course," your mom grins.

 

Brittany kisses you goodbye and tells you to call if you need anything. Your mom does something similar and picks some lint off of your shirt before they leave.

 

When they're gone, you walk over to the couch and sit down next to the lump. You pretend to yawn loudly, "I'm tired. I think I'm going to take a nap." You lay your head on the lump and then hear her giggle.

 

"You're not supposed to nap. You're supposed to find me," Summer states, throwing the blanket off of herself.

 

You smile and tickle her. She squirms and giggles. When you're done, you ask, "Is your homework done?"

 

Summer frowns and that alone gives you the answer. You tell her that when she's done with her homework you can play. So as she's sitting at the kitchen table, doing her homework, you do the few dishes that are in the sink and clean the kitchen a little. It's not dirty; you're just doing daily maintenance type things. Sweeping and wiping down counters.

 

"I'm done," Summer tells you as she puts all of her papers in her folder and then puts that in her backpack.

 

"Alright," you pick her up as she hops over to you and sit her on the counter. "What are we going to do?"

 

"Let's dance," she cheers.

 

You smile at how her eyes light up when she says that. Just like Brittany's do when she dances. You can't help, but follow her to the studio and rock out with her for as long as you can stand.

 

Then you turn on a movie and make grilled cheeses for dinner as requested by the tiny blonde dancer. You sit with Summer, watching the movie as you eat. Then you enlist her help to wash the dishes you used for dinner. You just happen to find ice cream in the freezer and you and Summer dig into that like ravenous wolves.

 

When your mom and Brittany get back, Summer is already in bed and you're laying on the couch about to pass out. Brittany sets down a few bags and sits down next to you. "Did she wear you out?"

 

You nod and lean into her.

 

"I got you something," your mom says which always makes you pay attention. She looks through a boutique bag and extracts a very intricately painted kettle. It's all black and white, but the designs make up for the lack of color.

 

You take it from her, "It beautiful. Thank you."

 

She smiles, "I wish Summer was still awake. I got her some things to look at under her microscope." Your mom lifts a bag of assorted colorful and crystallized rocks from a different bag.

 

You look over at Brittany, "So you two had fun?"

 

"Definitely," Brittany smiles, her eyes flickering to your mom.

 

You look at your mom who is smiling back at Brittany. It means a lot to you that they get along.

 

Your mom tells Brittany she should probably get you home before you fall asleep. Brittany chuckles and you pout, which apparently doesn't help your case.

 

Brittany walks to you to the door and hugs your mom goodbye. As your mom walks to the car, you stand in front of Brittany in the doorway. "Thank you so much."

 

"I really had fun," Brittany tells you. "Your mom is so nice."

 

You glance back at your mom and see that she's out of ear shot, "Is she okay?"

 

Brittany takes one of your hands, "She’s sad which makes sense. She doesn't really know what she wants to do now, but she feels free. She just needs a little time to figure out what she wants to do."

 

That was fairly vague, but you accept that there are some things that Brittany and your mom talked about that they don't want to tell you. You kiss Brittany again, "Thank you."

 

"I really did have fun," she tells you with a smile.

 

"When do I get to take you shopping?" you ask her.

 

"Whenever you want," she steps outside and kisses you.

 

You smile into the kiss and know that you want to kiss her forever.

 

You eventually go to your car and let your mom drive you home. You fall down on the couch with a content smile on your face.

 

"You look like you're happy," your mom says and locks the door.

 

"I am," you smile into your pillow and enjoy the feeling. Brittany’s perfect. Everything about her is perfect.

 

You find yourself at work, twirling a pen in your fingers. Today has mostly been about kids with the sniffles. It's about that time of the year that kids are going to start getting sick and colds are going to go around. You suppose you should start drafting the letter that you're going to have to send home with all the kids about washing their hands and make sure that they get a lot of vitamin C.

 

You get a call around two fifteen. It's Brittany so you immediately answer. She usually doesn't call you during the day so you almost jump on your phone, "Hey beautiful."

 

Her voice isn't what you expect though. It's on edge, "Hey babe. Um, can you pick up Summer?"

 

"Of course," you frown, "What's wrong?"

 

"I'm not sure, but my bedroom is flooded," Brittany says, "I went and got Dave and my parents are on their way over."

 

She sounds like she's really upset and you want to run over there as fast as you can, but you know that she needs you to go get Summer, "Do you want me to bring her over or do you want her to hang out with me? I can drop her off with my mom and be right over."

 

"You can bring her over," Brittany says, quietly as if the gravity of what was going on in her house just sank in. "I just - I don't know what I'm going to do."

 

"We'll figure it out okay?" you say. You gather your things and make your way out to your car, "I'll be over there as soon as I can."

 

"Thank you," she says. She tells you that she has to go and hangs up as you hear voices rise in the background.

 

Summer smiles as soon as she sees you. "Hey!" She hugs you and you hug her back. "What are you doing here?"

 

"I'm here to pick you up," you tell her. "Your mom is taking care of a problem with your house."

 

"What kind of problem?" Summer asks, taking your hand as you both make your way out to your car.

 

You're not sure how much to tell her. You don't want to scare her, but you don't want to lie to her. You figure that she's going to end up seeing it so you say, "There's a water leak in her room."

 

"Oh," Summer says, like she's relieved. You don’t know what she thought it was.

 

When you get to the house, you see the front door is open. You close the door behind you and bring Summer with you to the kitchen. You sit her down at the kitchen table and start her to doing her homework. You can hear talking in Brittany's bedroom, but you can't really make out what they're saying.

 

Finally when you make it down the short hallway to Brittany's room, you can hear Dave talking. "The water is off, but I'm not sure where it's coming from."

 

You step into the room and hear the soft pat of your sneakers landing in a thin layer of water. It's a lot worse than you thought it was. You were expecting a small puddle coming out of the bathroom, but the water has coated most of the bedroom floor.

 

"Son of a bitch," you whisper to yourself and keep moving across the wet wooden floor to the group of adults standing by the bed. You have to step over a wall of soaked towels that are keeping the water in the bedroom and not letting it move into the hallway.

 

Brittany is the first one to see you. She looks distraught, but determined to save face. You step up next to her and snake your arm around her waist. "Summer's doing her homework at the table. What do you want me to do?"

 

Brittany shrugs and rests her head on your shoulder. You rub her back and try to figure out what you need to do so that you can take some of the strain off of Brittany.

 

You look around and try to figure out what to do. You've never really had to deal with something like this. You've never had a house. You've lived in apartments, lofts, and townhouses your whole life. Your parents opted for the city life and left the suburban life to everyone else. Your first instinct has always been to call the maintenance staff.

 

"It's going to get cold in here with the electricity off," Brittany's mom mentions.

 

You look behind yourself, "Can we just turn the electricity off in here? Then maybe put something over the door to keep it from getting cold in the rest of the house?" You're not too sure of yourself and look to Brittany's mom for the verdict.

 

She nods, "That's a good idea."

 

"I think I have some plastic tarps in my garage," Dave says and walks toward the door. "I'll go check."

 

Brittany's dad walks into the bedroom from the bathroom. "I think the pipe is shut off. I'm still not too sure where the water is coming from though. I might have to get under the house."

 

"I'll go," Brittany stands up straight and volunteers, "Your back just got better."

 

"She's right," Brittany's mom says. "Just tell her where to go."

 

Brittany's dad nods and he and Brittany go outside.

 

Brittany's mom runs a hand through her hair. "Why don't we start moving the furniture into the living room? We need to get to water off the floor to, hopefully, keep it from warping."

 

You nod in agreement and you start moving things. You both manage to get most of the furniture into the living room without problem. You've been keeping it all together so it'll take up as little room as possible, but eventually, you and Brittany's mom are standing, staring at the bed.

 

"We're going to have to take it apart," you say, although it's obvious. Brittany's mom goes to get some tools and you try to figure out how to get it apart as it starts to get chilly in the room.

 

Summer comes in to watch and even helps move the pillows and linens to the couch. As you're moving the footboard into the living room, Dave walks in the front door with a folded up tarp under his arm. "I got the electricity to the bedroom cut off. It's back on in here." He walks to the thermostat and turns on the heater.

 

You turn on some of the lights and check the refrigerator to make sure it's back on. You and Dave carry the mattress into the living room and then the box spring while Brittany's mom hammers up the tarp over the doorway to the bedroom. You and Dave order some pizzas because no one is going to want to cook or go out to eat.

 

As you're pulling Brittany's shoes out of the closet, you hear her and her father enter the house. You walk into the kitchen to make sure that she's okay. Her hair is up in a messy bun and she's sweaty and dirty, a large wet spot streaking across her t-shirt. She has an especially pronounced dirt streak right under her left eye. It's so hot.

 

Brittany smiles as her dad says, "She fixed it. We'll have to get another pipe tomorrow, but she found the leak and taped it so it won't leak anymore tonight."

 

When Brittany looks at you, you smile right back at her. She steps up to you and kisses you. "Thank you for helping."

 

"No problem," you smile.

 

"Pizza's here," Dave says and walks in with the food you ordered.

 

Everyone, but you and Dave sit down. He needs help checking on something and you volunteer. When he shines a flashlight across the floor you can see it already starting to warp. "Damn," he says.

 

You look across the rest of the floor. It's all becoming the same way. As you're looking, you feel two hands rest on your hips from behind. You turn your head to see Brittany with a half eaten piece of pizza in her hand. You rarely hear Brittany curse, but she does when she sees the warping.

 

You feel bad that her small victory of fixing the pipe is overshadowed by her ruined floor. "We'll fix it," you assure her.

 

She takes a deep breath. Dave hesitantly interrupts and suggests that you all open the windows so it doesn't mold. You help him and once you're done, he exits the room through the tarp.

 

It's hard to see her in the room because only the light is coming from outside. You reach forward and take her hand. Her hand is cold so you pull her to you. She sighs, defeated with her head coming to rest on your shoulder.

 

"It'll be okay," you whisper and try to hold her in a way that would make her feel better.

 

She takes a deep breath and shakes her head, "I have to pull up this floor and buy a new one and fix the pipe and lay down the new floor. It's a lot."

 

"Well, I will help," you assure her. "I may not be as handy as my mom, but I am really great at picking out floors."

 

Brittany chuckles and softly kisses your neck. "Thank you so much Santana."

 

"Let's go eat okay?" you suggest. "We can talk it out with everyone."

 

She agrees and you go join everyone else in eating. You pull out Brittany's chair and refill Summer's water before sitting down. Talking it out seems to help Brittany. Tomorrow, Brittany's parents are going to come over start pulling up the floor. Dave is going to drop by after work and you are coming during your lunch break to see if you can help. When Brittany gets off, you're taking Brittany and Summer to see if you can find a floor that they like.

 

After dinner, Dave goes home and Brittany's parents aren’t far behind. You hang out with Summer while Brittany takes a shower in the bathroom by Summer's room.

 

When she gets out, you help her make the couch and put Summer to bed. Brittany seems exhausted. You sit on the coffee table as she lays on the couch. "Are you sure that you don't want to go stay in a hotel or something? I can kick my mom into a hotel and you can stay with me."

 

Brittany laughs, "No. I'm fine. I promise." She takes your hand and pulls you to her so that she can kiss you.

 

"Well I'm going to be on a couch a few miles away," you smile and kiss her again.

 

Brittany chuckles, "You should totally just move in with me."

 

Your force a small laugh so that she doesn't know that you actually want to, but she seems to notice and her smile fades. She bites her lip and looks at you. You quickly avert your eyes and lick your lips, "I think-"

 

Your phone's shrill ringing jerks you away. It's mostly because you picked a horrific ring tone for when the hospital calls. You pick it up and answer. "Hey girl," Mercedes says, "It's you and me tonight. We have a skull to put back together."

 

You can't help, but smile. You love hanging out with Mercedes, "Alright. I'll be there in thirty."

 

"Don’t worry about music," Mercedes says, "I got it this time."

 

You laugh and tell her that you'll see her soon. When you hang up, you look down at Brittany who is looking at you. "I have to go."

 

"I know," she takes your hand and runs her thumb over your knuckles.

 

You lean back down and pause before pressing your lips to her, "You were so hot after you fixed the leak."

 

She giggles, "All sweaty and gross?"

 

"Yeah," you finally close the gap and kiss her.

 

"I guess I'll have to go roll around under the house some time soon," she says and sits up.

 

"What are you doing?" you ask her.

 

"C'mon," she takes your hand and holds it all the way into the kitchen. She opens a drawer that looks like a junk drawer and pulls out a key on an empty keychain. "Here."

 

You take it from her and look it over. You think you know what it is. "Is this to... your house?"

 

She nods, waiting to gauge your reaction.

 

You surge forward and kiss her. You feel her body bump the counter behind her, but you keep pressing into her. Brittany's fingers curl over the top of your pants and pull you harder against her. You want so much to show her exactly how much this means to you, but you can't.

 

Brittany seems to realize that too. She pulls away, but allows her fingers to stroke the skin right above your pants. "You have to go."

 

You nod and tug her shirt so that she'll kiss you again. She mumbles against your lips, "I love you."

 

"Love you too," you manage to get out as you keep kissing her.

 

She smiles and pushes her hands up under your shirt and onto your back. "Babe, you really need to go or I'm going to make you stay."

 

You know exactly how she feels. You sigh and nod.

 

She walks you to the door and you shiver as soon as the door opens. Since you've been working in a heated house, you haven't been cold and when you came over you forgot everything else.

 

"Hold on," Brittany runs off and comes trotting back with a red hoodie in her hands. "Here."

 

You thank her and put it on. You look down at it and smile, "Look I'm cereal." You point to the word Cheerio on the hoodie.

 

Brittany swats your ass, "Shut up."

 

You make sure that the key to her house is still in your hand as you give her one last kiss goodbye.

 

On the way to the hospital after calling your mom to tell her that you have a surgery, you have to grab some coffee so you stop by a gas station. You yawn as you're pouring the coffee and as you walk to the counter, you grab a sketchy looking banana. You watch the price of your coffee and the banana ring up and then the total price is discounted by half. You frown and ask the cashier. He points to your hoodie and says, "Cheerio discount."

 

You pretty much enjoy this town, but there are some things that you don't get at all. You pull out some cash and hand it over. As you're waiting for your change, you look outside. You make a face and decide that you need to wash your car. As you're looking, you see another car that was there when you got here. Over the top of it, your eyes lock with a pair of hazel eyes.

 

"Ma'am," the cashier says.

 

You look back at him and take your change, dropping it into your wallet. Then you grab your things and hurry to the door. But when you open it, no one is there. Your car is the only one under the bright lights of the gas station. You narrow your eyes at where you were just looking. You swear to god you just saw Quinn.

 

You narrow your eyes at the spot where you’re sure the car was and take a sip of your coffee. You look around and see a few cars driving by. You shake your head as you walk to your car.

 

As always, surgery with Mercedes is fun. You sing along to her playlist whenever you know the words and you're sure that your patient is going to wake up with Alicia Keys playing in his head.

 

You close up a few minutes after midnight and you're sure that your patient will be satisfied with the metal plate you fitted to his head. You stop by the doctor's lounge and take a little rest before heading to check on your patient and then go home to sleep.

 

"Brittany been keeping you up late at night?" Mercedes asks.

 

You open your eyes and sit up straight on the couch. "I wish."

 

Mercedes sits down next to you on the couch. "Do you need a ride home?"

 

You shake your head, "Nah. I just needed to sit down. Brittany's bedroom flooded so I've been moving furniture. I need to start working out because I'm beat."

 

Mercedes laughs.

 

You chat a little bit about Brittany and Lima until you feel you need to go home or you won't make it.

 

When you do get home, you find your mom reading on the couch. "What are you doing still awake?"

 

Your mom looks at her watch, "I didn't realize it was so late. How was surgery?"

 

"Great," you drop your purse and collapse on the couch.

 

"How's Brittany?" your mom asks, placing her book on the coffee table and stroking your hair.

 

"She'll be okay," you yawn, "I'm taking her floor shopping tomorrow."

 

Your mom smiles, "She doesn't know what she's in for."

 

You chuckle and then sit up to look at your mom, "She gave me a key to her house."

 

"Wow, that's big," your mom grins.

 

"I know," you take a deep breath. "Is it too much that I already feel like I want to live with her?"

 

Your mom thinks about it. "I don't think so. I think you're such a huge part of each other's lives that it just seems natural."

 

"I don't want to ask her though," you admit. "It's her house and she has Summer to think about."

 

"Maybe you should introduce the idea," your mom offers, "Maybe she hasn't asked you because she doesn't know how you feel about it."

 

"She jokingly said that I should move in with her," you sigh, "And I got weird. I don't know."

 

"You've never been this serious about anyone," your mom tells you, "It's scary."

 

You've never really thought about that before. You don't think about any of your exes. You certainly don't compare any of them to Brittany. There's no comparison. There's them and there's Brittany. You also don't really consider yourself to be serious about anything. You just know that Brittany and Summer are in your life and you want them to be in your life forever. But now that you think about it, your mom is right. You've never been serious about anyone. And this is a whole new level of serious for you. For Brittany you have to redraw your serious scale.

 

"You're right," you say softly.

 

"It’s beautiful how invested you are," she says, "And Brittany is such a wonderful person. I used to worry about who you would end up with and now that you're with Brittany, I don't worry. We talked a lot about you when we went shopping. She put to rest any concerns I may have had." She kisses your head and tells you that she loves you before retreating to the bedroom.

 

You stay up for at least another hour thinking about Brittany and moving in with her. How that would change things and how it would be everything you've ever wanted.

 

You're startled awake when you get a text at a few minutes after midnight and it's enough to have you running out to your car in your sweats. The simple _I need you_ from Brittany was enough for you to forget your fatigue from the day and brave the cold of the night.

 

You use your key to open the front door of the house and quietly close it behind you. When you step out of the small entryway you see her. She's laying on the couch, blanket pulled up to her chin with a few tears on her face sparkling in the firelight.

 

You walk quickly over to her and kneel down in front of her. "What's wrong?"

 

She shakes her head, "Everything."

 

You kiss her forehead and rub her shoulder, "Can I lay down with you?"

 

She nods and scoots back against the cushions on the couch. You kick off your shoes and slip under the blanket that Brittany is holding up for you.

 

"Tell me what's wrong," you wrap your arms around her.

 

"I just..." she sighs heavily against your chest, "Everything.... the leak that turned into a broken pipe, that ruined my floor. Now I have to get a whole new floor and that's... a lot. My parents offered to pay for it, but they were going to use that money to go on vacation. I don't want to take it from them."

 

You hesitate to offer what money that you have. You feel like your dad ruined that for both of you. You hope that every time you buy Brittany something now you won't hesitate or feel bad about it. You close your eyes, knowing that she needs a bedroom floor.

 

Before you can offer you hear a small sniffle then Brittany whispers, "I'm not good enough."

 

"Good enough for what?" you ask her, your heart hurting seeing and hearing her like this.

 

She looks away and mumbles, "Good enough for you."

 

"What are you talking about?" you frown, "You're more than good enough."

 

"I can't do anything myself," she sniffles, "I failed my senior year of high school once. I went to college in Lima. I'm not... smart."

 

You're a little shocked by her sudden confession, but it doesn't matter to you at all. "Brittany," you wait until you have eye contact with her, "I don't care if you didn't graduate at all. You are everything I've ever wanted and a few things I didn't even know I wanted. You are smart. You are beautiful. You are all the best parts of my days."

 

She scoots closer to you and buries her face in your neck. "I'm not a doctor."

 

"You're a teacher," you answer, "You're making future doctors. Without you there wouldn't be doctors because none of them would know how to read a medical chart."

 

She begrudgingly smiles and looks up at you. She's about to say something, but you interrupt her with a kiss. "Let's go to sleep, okay?"

 

She burrows farther into you and nods. "I love you."

 

"I love you too," you let your eyes slip closed, content to have Brittany in your arms.


	17. The Way We Get By by Spoon

When you wake up, you're being softly patted on the face. Before you're fully awake, you feel Summer climbing over you to get to her mom. Before you know it, you're falling off of the couch. You hit your elbow on the ground and groan.

 

"Are you okay?" you hear from above you. When you peer up you see two blondes looking down at you.

 

"I'll just take my coffee down here," you mumble and lay your head on the floor.

 

They both laugh and you just lay there. You pull the blanket off of Brittany and pull it over your head. You actually do intent to go back to sleep even if you’re on the floor.

 

You hear Summer jump off the end of the couch and run off. Brittany leans off of the couch and places her hands on either side of you. Her body lowers down and she moves over before any of her weight is on you so that you're both lying on the ground. "Babe?"

You peek at her through squinted eyes, "Hmm?"

 

"What do you want for breakfast?" she asks, snuggling into you.

 

"I'm sleeping," you close your eyes and burrow into her as her arm drapes over you.

 

She kisses your forehead and says, "You may have your boss wrapped around your finger and can show up when you want, but I missed half a day yesterday because there was a pool in my bedroom so I have to go to work."

 

"Boo," you hiss and pull on Brittany's shirt to keep her from leaving you. "Let's just lay here all day."

 

"I would love to," she says softly, letting her lips brush against yours in a sweet, slow kiss. She rubs your back, "But I have a daughter who will attempt to make her own breakfast if I don't go in there and do it."

 

You know that the daughter card trumps the girlfriend card every time so you groan and let go of Brittany. "I'll just be here sleeping."

 

"Mommy!" Summer calls from the kitchen.

 

"I'll start the coffee," Brittany kisses your cheek and tells you that she loves you.

 

You stay on the floor until Brittany and Summer bring their breakfast into the living room and sit next to your limp body to have a picnic.

 

You roll on your side and slowly blink, "I really need to start leaving some scrubs here."

 

"I cleaned out a drawer for you," Brittany offers, scooting a mug of coffee toward you.

 

You push up on your elbows and take a sip of the coffee. It keeps you from telling her that you don't want just a drawer. You want an entire armoire and half of the closet. You're starting to think that it might be too soon after your dad made Brittany feel not good enough for you and ruined your ability to buy her things without both of you over thinking it.

 

But you do smile. She gave you a drawer. "Thank you."

 

After Summer finishes her cereal, she runs off to get dressed. You need to put a reminder in your phone to remember to bring over some scrubs to put in that drawer. You yawn as you check your phone.

 

"I'm sorry that I drug you out of bed so late," Brittany says quietly.

 

You look over at her and she's sitting with her legs crossed, her hands folded in her lap. You dip your head down to catch her eyes, "I would rather be with you than anywhere else in the world and every time you need me I will come running." You want to show her that. When you look at her and see the insecurities and vulnerabilities in her eyes, you want to do nothing, but prove to her that she's perfect. That she's everything you want and everything you need. She's more than you could have ever imagined having. You want to take her to a beautiful place and make love to her until you're sure that she knows how much you're really in love with her.

 

She looks down and fidgets with her fingers. She opens her mouth to speak, but closes it before she does. Then she shakes her head.

 

"I know what you're thinking," you grin at her from around the rim of your coffee cup.

 

"Really?" Brittany asks, tilting her head to the side.

 

You nod, "And the answer to your question is yes, this is my natural hair color."

 

She laughs and swats your arm.

 

You smile playfully and relish in the gorgeous smile that adorns her face.

 

Your morning ends all too soon because you really need to get to work and Brittany and Summer really need to get to school. You're lucky that you have one last pair of scrubs left in your office. Once you're changed, you decide to make your rounds before doing any paperwork and hopefully prolonging the great start to your day.

 

The cold that's going around is really starting to hit the school hard. It's almost Thanksgiving and most of the middle school has the sniffles. It's about time for you to send out the letter telling parents that they need to closely monitor their children's health. You make a note to get Summer some orange juice after work. Then you amend the note to get enough for Brittany too.

 

At the high school, mono seems to be making its way around. Luckily, you worked on developing an immunity to it when you were in high school. You got perfect grades and in return you got to do whatever you wanted. You also had sick volleyball legs and a Catholic schoolgirl uniform. It was a deadly combination.

 

Suddenly you have a terrifying thought. You are the last person on earth that you want Summer to be like in high school.

 

"Dr. Lopez?" a boy says in the doorway.

 

You look up at him and see that Puck hanging on him and limping. You frown, "What happened?"

 

The boy tries to hide a smirk as he helps his coach to your examination table. "He got hit in the nads with a football."

 

You have a problem not laughing as well. Once Puck is on the table, you send the boy out and close the door. You grab some latex gloves and move the stool over to the table. "How hard did you get hit?"

 

"I think my nuts are going to fall off," Puck groans.

 

"Can you get your shorts off?" you ask him.

 

He stiffly gets his shorts off and says, "Try not to get too hot with you see the Puckasauras."

 

You chuckle, "I'll try."

 

After a quick exam, you give him a bag of ice and tell him not to do anything too strenuous. You give him a wheelchair that you found in the closet when you started working here. Then you wheel him back to his office.

 

"Are you sure they're fine?" he asks when you get him into his office.

 

You nod, "Yes." You write down your cell phone number on a post it that he has on his desk, "Call me if you still feel nauseous in two hours."

 

He nods, "Thanks."

 

You head back to the admin building to print out the health safety letter and give it to the superintendent to distribute. You almost work into lunch without really realizing it and finally end up with something to distribute. The superintendent is just getting back from lunch when you take him the letter.

 

"This is very proactive of you," he smiles. "I like it."

 

You don't really care what he likes though. You just fake a smile and leave. You have a bedroom floor to pull up during lunch.

 

After stopping by your place to grab a handful of scrubs, you grab a bunch of burritos and tacos on the way over because you don't know if everyone working has eaten yet. You smile when you use your key to open the door.

 

Inside you can hear banging. When you walk to the back of the house and push back the tarp, you see that half of the wooden part of the floor is up, exposing what you assume from earlier talks with Brittany's dad, is0 the subfloor.

 

"I brought lunch," you offer when you see that neither of Brittany's parents or Dave sees you standing there.

 

They all look up at you and smile.

 

"Hey," Dave stands up and dusts himself off. "Thanks."

 

"Why don't you show me what I need to do and I'll work while you eat?" you tell them.

 

Mr. Pierce shows you how to pull up the individual boards which doesn't look too hard until you're all alone with a crowbar. You manage to only get one board up by the time everyone is done eating. It would be a huge accomplishment if you hadn't broken it in half and accidentally stabbed yourself with the end of the crowbar.

 

"This doesn't look too good," Mrs. Pierce says, gingerly pressing her foot against the subfloor.

 

You sit back on the floor and agree. "What will it take to replace that?"

 

"A few sheets of plywood," Dave shrugs.

 

You jerk your head toward the door when only Dave is looking and you both walk into the kitchen. He wipes his brow, "What's up?"

 

"We should go look in your garage to see if you have any plywood," you tell him.

 

He narrows his eyes thoughtfully, "But I don't have any..."

 

You cut him off and move your eyes toward the tarped door, "We need to look in your garage."

 

He nods although probably not entirely understanding. He pokes his head into the bedroom and tells the Pierces that you're both going to look in the garage.

 

Then when you get outside, you tell him to drive you to the hardware store. He finally smiles and says that he knows what you're doing.

 

"Well, Brittany's weird about me paying for things now because my dad fucked everything up and the Pierces are going on their vacation so," you shrug, "You just happen to have this laying around in your garage."

 

"Alright," he nods, "But Brittany always knows when I'm lying so you might not want me to talk to her."

 

"She knows when I'm lying too," you say when he pulls to a stop in the parking lot of the hardware store, "So we're just not going to say anything."

 

You get the boards as quickly as possible and you don't skimp out on the cheap ones. Brittany deserves the best and if all goes as planned, this will be your bedroom someday as well.

 

Dave pulls into his garage when you get back and you both start unloading the plywood and carrying it into Brittany's house. "Technically it was in my garage," he smirks and you struggle to get one sheet of the wood into the front door.

 

"Ha, ha. You're clever," you state.

 

He laughs at your sarcasm and carries his board through the house. Brittany's dad seems surprised that Dave had so much lumber in his garage, but neither one of you say more than you have to.

 

So Brittany's dad and Dave get to work pulling up the subfloor where the wooden panels have already been pulled up and you and Brittany's mom keep pulling up the flooring.

 

Your hands are splinter ridden and bruised by the time your lunch break is over, but at least all the boards are pulled up and most of the subfloor is replaced.

 

"Thank you so much Santana," Brittany's mom hugs you and you gladly accept her hug.

 

"No problem," you smile and pull away.

 

"I know what you did," she smirks at you, "You forgot to take the price tags off of the wood."

 

You immediately avert your eyes when she presents you with a handful of small pieces of paper with barcodes on them. "I don't know what you're talking about."

 

She pulls you into another hug, "Thank you, Santana." This time she lingers a little, just holding you. When she pulls away she looks slightly emotional.

 

You know that Brittany tells her mom everything so she knows what your dad did so you know she'll understand when you ask her, "Can you keep it between us?"

 

She nods, "Of course, dear."

 

"Thank you," you touch her shoulder before going into the living room to get some clean scrubs from your drawer. You throw your dirty ones into Brittany's dirty clothes and make a mental note to try to remember to do the laundry when you get back after taking Brittany floor shopping.

 

And as soon as school is out, you pull up to the elementary school where both Pierce girls are waiting for you. They get in and you head to the hardware store.

 

When you get there the man that stands at the door to greet people smiles at you, "Back again?" Then he chuckles like it's a joke.

 

You just sort of duck your head and keep walking. Brittany looks questioningly at you and you just shrug.

 

When you get to the flooring department, you hold Summer's hand while Brittany looks around. You sit down in front of the desk where the person is supposed to show you what the floor looks like on the computer, but there's no one there so you just pick up one of the books with all the samples in it while Summer uses the desk to color in her coloring book.

 

After a few minutes, Brittany moves one of the chairs over next to you and rests her head on your shoulder. "I quit."

 

You chuckle, "You can't quit. You need a floor." You show her the pricks on your fingers from the plywood, "and the subfloor would not be nice to walk on barefooted."

 

She takes your hand and kisses your fingers. "Thank you for helping today."

 

You shrug, "It was fun. I feel handy now."

 

Brittany grins and kisses your cheek, "You pick. I can't."

 

You look through the book in your lap and picture the flooring in Brittany's bedroom. After a few pages you point, "This one."

 

"I love that one," she runs her hand over it and leans closer, examining it closer, “but it's expensive.”

 

"Well..." you trail off, knowing that she'll know what you're saying.

 

"Santana you know that I don't..." she pauses, "I don't - I can't -"

 

"You can," you say.

 

She licks her lips and sighs. "It's a lot of money just for my bedroom."

 

"You deserve it," you tell her, "And maybe..." you make yourself a little nervous saying it out loud, but you have to try. "Maybe someday... it'll be someone else's bedroom too. So at least let me help."

 

She freezes and you're scared that you went too far. She looks at you and her eyes are unsure. "What do you mean?"

 

Your face flushes and you start internally freaking out. You bow your head and try to think of something to say, but everything you think of sounds stupid or too forward or too timid. You finally look up and see her patiently waiting, "I'm just saying that maybe, someday. I think - I mean I hope - not yet or now, I mean I would, but you - and you have Summer to think about." You get so frustrated that you put the book of flooring on the desk and stand up. You need to just clear your head because Brittany hasn't said anything and you feel like you fucked up. Tears are stinging the back of your eyes, but you refuse to cry. You take a few steps away from the desk.

 

"Santana," Brittany stands up and follows you, catching your hand.

 

You can't look at her because you're so upset, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - to fuck everything up. Just forget what I said."

 

"Move in with me," she says, lifting your hand to her lips and softly kissing the back of your hand while holding your eyes.

 

You blink, "What?"

 

She softly smiles, "Will you move in with me? Summer and I have already talked about it. Just in case. I know it seems fast, but... it feels right."

 

You lick your lips and look up at her. "Are you sure?"

 

She nods, "So sure."

 

"Can I... ask Summer if it's okay?" you ask, timidly.

 

Brittany just looks at you like you're doing everything right and she loves you more than anything. She smiles softly at you and nods, stepping away and dropping your hand.

 

You walk over to Summer who is still coloring and kneel down in front of her, "Summer?"

 

She looks at you and smiles, "Hi."

 

"Hi," you smile back. "Your mom and I were talking and I wanted to know if it would be okay if I..." you nervously tap your fingers on your knees, "If I come live with you?"

 

Her eyes get wide, "You're going to live with us?"

 

"If it's okay with you," you say hopefully.

 

"Can we still do fun stuff without Mommy sometimes?" she asks, her little eyebrows furrowing.

 

You nod, "Of course."

 

"Okay," She slides out of her chair and hugs you around your neck.

 

It feels so good to have her approval. She loves her mom and you’re relived that she allows you to love her mom too. You hug Summer and whisper to her, "I love you Summer."

 

"I love you too Santana," she says.

 

When you stand up Brittany is behind you. She hugs you and wraps her arms around your waist. You smile at her and when you see a guy with a vest indicating that he works here walking by you flag him down. He smiles and walks over you to, Brittany letting go of you to look at the book.

 

"Can I help you ladies?" the man asks.

 

You point to the book with the flooring that Brittany loves and tell him, "We want this one."

 

Once it's ordered and the down payment is on your credit card and the last payment is scheduled on Brittany's, you walk out of the hardware store with the promise that the flooring will be delivered tomorrow.

 

"Where to now?" you ask Brittany.

 

Brittany gets into your car after helping Summer in and shrugs, "Home I guess."

 

"I have to pack and break the news to my mom," you look over at her.

 

Brittany smiles and kisses you, "Take your time. There's no floor in our bedroom anyway. And you keep falling off of the couch."

 

You laugh and start your car.

 

After dropping Brittany and Summer off at the school to get Brittany's car, you head to your apartment. Your mom is folding a mountain of clothes on the couch.

 

"Hey Mom," you say and close the door.

 

"Hey," she smiles, "How was work?"

 

"It was okay," you tell her. "Um," you look at your mom with a dopey smile on your face that has been there for the past hour, "Brittany asked me to move in with her.”

 

Your mom drops the clothes she's folding and pulls you into her arms, "That's great! Now I can have my own place."

 

Your mouth drops open a little, "Um, thanks Mom."

 

She laughs, "I'm just kidding. Sort of." She starts folding her clothes, "Now I can send for the rest of my clothes."

 

"Really?" you ask her, "You're staying here? In Lima?"

 

She shrugs, "Who knows? But I love being here and getting to be part of your life. If you get sick of me or I get antsy, I'll leave."

 

You hug your mom. "I'm glad you're staying."

 

"We'll go get the names changed on the lease tomorrow," your mom pats your back. Then she looks around the living room, "What are you going to take and what's staying?"

 

You shrug, "You can have all of it. Brittany has good furniture."

 

"You don't even want the beautiful bookshelf table that I made for you?" she asks jokingly.

 

You laugh. "I should probably see if Brittany needs anything first shouldn't I?"

 

"I made Sangria," your mom says, walking into the kitchen, "Let's take it over to your house and see if they need more help with the floor."

 

You agree although you're pretty sure that there's nothing left to be done until the flooring is delivered tomorrow. When you get to the house - your house, you walk with your mom to the door. You knock and your mom just quirks an eyebrow at you, "Don't you live here?"

 

Before you can answer the door opens. Brittany's mom smiles at you, "You don't have to knock. You live here."

 

You smile wider because Brittany told her mom and her mom is okay with it. "Sorry. Habit."

 

"We brought Sangria," your mom says, holding up the pitcher.

 

"Great," Brittany's mom ushers you in. "Brittany and her father are under the house, replacing the leaky pipe."

 

You try to hide your perverted grin when the mental image of Brittany covered in dirt, holding a wrench, and asking if you want her to take a look at your plumbing enters your brain.

 

Summer skips into the living room and gives you a hug, "I need help with my homework."

 

"Okay," you nod and move her hair out of her face. "Are you doing your homework at the table?"

 

Summer kicks one of her feet with the other, "Mmm, no."

 

"Isn't that a rule?" you ask, knowing that that's where Brittany likes Summer to do her homework.

 

Summer sighs and nods, "Yeah. I'll go get it."

 

You walk through the kitchen and to the bedroom. The subfloor is in and the room is clean, waiting for the new flooring. You step out of the bedroom and find both yours and Brittany's moms and Summer. "Did Dave go home?"

 

Brittany's mom nods, "He said something about having to start dinner."

 

You nod. You wonder what having Dave as a neighbor is like. He seems like a really nice guy. You guess you'll figure out soon enough.

 

"Santana," Summer whines, "I can't figure this out."

 

You sit down next to her and look over the paper. "Did you read the instructions?"

 

She sighs again.

 

You quirk an eyebrow, "Read the instructions and try again."

 

Summer rests her cheek on her hand and leans on it, but she starts reading.

 

You stand up and get into the refrigerator. You put some grapes in a bowl and set them on the table in front of Summer. She gives you a grin and eats while she works.

 

"You are a natural, mija," your mom smiles when you walk over to her and Brittany's mom.

 

You blush. You didn't think about it like that. You just thought that she was cranky because she was hungry. You remember that the first thing you always did when you got home from school was to get something to eat and then do your work.

 

"When are you going to move in?" Brittany's mom asks.

 

You shrug, "Whenever Brittany is ready. Mom's going to take over the lease in my old apartment so I don't have to move all my furniture. Mom's going to keep what she wants and if Brittany wants some of my old stuff we can move it, but it doesn't really matter to me."

 

The back door opens and you hear Brittany. You feel kind of perverted waiting to see Brittany all covered in dirt and... your brain stops when you see her. Her hair is back in the messy bun and you can see beads of sweat gathering on her forehead. In her hand is a large wrench and she wipes her cheek with the back of her hand.

 

When she sees you, she smiles. "Hey, I hope you don't mind. I couldn't get to my dance clothes so I borrowed some of yours."

 

The fact that she's wearing some of your scrubs makes this weird fetish of yours so much hotter. You really want to rip those off of her and do naughty, naughty things to her. You realize that everyone is looking at you and you shake your head, "No, it- it's no problem."

 

Brittany's careful not to touch you with anything, but her lips when she kisses your cheek, "Thanks, babe." She looks around, "Where's your stuff?"

 

"I wasn't sure if you were ready for me," you answer.

 

"I'm ready for you whenever you’re ready," she sets the wrench down on the kitchen counter. "As long as you don't mind sleeping on the couch with me for one night."

 

You smile. "As long as you don't mind."

 

"Never," Brittany kisses your lips and then leans back on the counter. She looks at all the parents who are talking and how your mom is helping Summer with her science homework.

 

"Can I go to grandma's house?" Summer asks a few seconds later, "I'm done with my homework."

 

Brittany nods, "Sure."

 

Summer cheers and runs to her room to pack. Brittany's mom catches your eyes and gestures for you to go into the living room. You ask Brittany to excuse you and walk into the living room. Brittany’s mom follows right behind you.

 

You stop by the front door and Brittany's mom stands in front of you. "It's been a rough few days for Brittany," she tells you and touches your arm, "Can you make sure that she relaxes tonight? I can give you money if you need it to go out."

 

You shake your head, "No. I got it." Then you nod, "I promise that she will relax tonight."

 

"Thank you dear," Brittany's mom hugs you.

 

When Summer is ready, Brittany's mom invites your mom over and tells her to bring the Sangria. Your mom leaves enough for you and Brittany and then takes your car to the Pierces.

 

When the house is empty, you look across the living room at Brittany. She's still dirty and gross, but you feel a smile spread across your face. You slowly slink over to her and stand right in front of her, looking up at her. "You're dirty."

 

She smiles back at you. She seems to know what you're doing. "Yeah." She dips her head down until her lips are a breath away from yours.

 

You tilt your chin up and kiss her slowly and sensually, baiting her. Then you take a step back, "I'm going to go start your bath."

 

"My bath?" she asks. Her eyebrows raise and you know that she didn't actually know where you were going with it.

 

You go into the bathroom attached to Brittany’s bedroom, your new bedroom, and start the water to running. Brittany rinses off in the shower and then sinks down into the bath you drew for her. You even found some bubbles to throw in. You're going to have to introduce Brittany to bath salts and minerals.

 

You sit on the edge of the bathtub and just watch her lean back in the tub. She closes her eyes and hums. You go to the kitchen and get her a glass of Sangria. As you hand it to her you ask, "Do you need anything else?"

 

She smiles gently up at you, her loving, adoring smile. "Will you sing to me?"

 

You chuckle and you may blush a little. "What do you want me to sing?"

 

"The first thing that comes to your mind," she tells you, taking a sip of her wine.

 

You take a deep breath and know the song. That song that you hear in your head when Brittany gives you a special smile or when her eyes light up or she kisses you. You take another breath and start singing, "For you, they'll be no more crying. For you, the sun will be shining..."

 

When the song is over, Brittany sits up, out of the water and pulls you in for a kiss. "Thank you."

 

You smile shyly. Then you move back against the opposite wall from her and sit on the edge of the tub. You roll up your jeans and place your feet in the water. Then you reach into the water and pick up one of her feet. You pick up a washcloth off of the shelf next to the tub and dip it in the water. You gently run the cloth up and down her leg. You kiss the inside of her ankle and continue washing her long, lean leg.

 

"You don't have to do that," she tells you, letting her head rest on the edge of the bathtub.

 

"I know," you smile, "But I want to and I'm going to." You gently set down the leg that you just washed and pick up the other one. As you start washing you ask, "What do you want for dinner? We can go out or order in."

 

"Let's order in," she answers carefully watching you, "What muscle is that?"

 

You run the washcloth back over where it just was, "This one?" When she nods, you answer, "Gastrocenmius." You kiss her calf and tell her, "You have a beautiful gastrocenmius."

 

She giggles and tells you that she loves you.

 

"I love you too," you echo and place her leg back into the water. "What do you want for dinner? I'm going to go order."

 

"Is Chinese okay with you?" she asks.

 

You nod and she tells you what she wants. You step out of the bathroom and then step back in. The plywood isn't too nice on your feet so you slip your shoes back on. You step into the kitchen to order and then walk back to the bathroom. Brittany's already out of the bath and in a towel. She smiles at you, "It was getting cold."

 

You run to her dresser that's still being stored in the living room and bring her some pajama pants and a t-shirt so she doesn't get cold. You respectfully look away as she gets dressed and chivalrously give her a piggyback ride to the kitchen so she doesn't have to step on the plywood with bare feet.

 

You deposit her on the couch and then get her some more wine. Then you run to the door when there's a knock. Once you have the food, you and Brittany sit at the coffee table and lean on each other as you eat. You trade food and split the dumplings. You read each other's fortune cookies.

 

Being around her is just easy. You feel relaxed. You feel at home. You love the way you fit in her arms and she knows just how tight to hold you.

 

"Are you relaxed?" you ask Brittany as the clock nears ten. She has her arms around you and you look up at her.

 

She softly kisses you, "Yes. Are you?"

 

You nod and rest your head against her shoulder again. "Are you sure you want me to move in with you? I'm not a morning person. I'm on call so I could wake you up when I leave in the middle of the night. I have a lot of clothes."

 

Brittany kisses the side of your head, "Yes. I'm sure. I already know you're not a morning person. I know you're on call. I know you have a lot of clothes. I want you to move in with me because I want to wake up with you in the morning or in the middle of the night when you have to leave. I want to fall asleep holding you every night."

 

Your heart swells with all of your emotions. You tilt your head up and kiss the underside of her jaw.

 

Brittany tries to stop a yawn, but you saw it so you suggest. "Let's go to bed."

 

Brittany moves up onto the couch and you walk toward all of her bedroom stuff that's up against the back wall. She sits on the couch, "What are you doing?"

 

You just smile at her. Then you pull her mattress into the middle of the living room floor on its side and then ungracefully drop it flat on the floor. You go to her drawers where you know she keeps her sheets and then make the bed, not letting her help even after you fall on the mattress a few times. Then you start a fire in the fireplace, making sure that the mattress is far enough away from it. Then you turn off all the lights.

 

You start to go get something to wear to bed, but Brittany grabs your wrist. Her lips crash against yours as you both stand next to the mattress, kissing passionately. Brittany breaks the kiss to sit down on the mattress. Then she pulls you down on the mattress. She kisses you again, this time pushing you onto your back with a searing kiss.

 

She slowly kisses you. The pace of the kiss is enough to make you beg for more. You grab onto her shirt and pull her harder against you. She moves over you and the weight and heat of her body against you arouses you like nothing else. You moan into her mouth.

 

She pushes her hands up under your shirt and runs them over your skin. She touches your sides and stomach then pushes your shirt up. She moves down to kiss your stomach, slowly making her way up until she pulls your shirt over your head. She slowly kisses the valley between your breasts. When you arc your back, she reaches behind you and unhooks your bra.

 

As she slowly pulls your bra off of your arms, she looks down at you, her eyes locking with you. You know that this time means a lot to both of you. This is the first time you're making love after officially moving in together. This is a huge step. You've never done it when anyone else. You know it’s big for her too. She trusts you enough to live in the same house with Summer.

 

You slip your hands into her hair as she dips down and kisses you. Her hands slide from your sides, up and cup your breasts. She's gentle, but firm when she shows you things, even you as a doctor didn't know that your body could do. She memorizes every centimeter of your skin. Every expanse, every hard to find freckle, and every curve become marked territory. It's all Brittany's.

 

You love that there is no rhyme or reason to how you have sex with Brittany. There isn't a schedule or a it's her turn then it's yours then it's hers. There's no order. You do what feels right. You love the feel of her skin against yours. There's nothing obstructing your hands from touching every perfect inch of her body.

 

Everything is just so amazing and you can't stop her name from rushing across your lips several times. You've never felt like this before. You feel so high, soaring above everything as you're struck with wave after wave of only something Brittany's ever been able to make you feel.

 

She whispers in your ear that she loves you as she pulls you into her arms and lays her head on her pillow. You get as close to her as you can wrapping your body around her.

 

You get what she was saying about wanting to fall asleep with you every night. Laying in bed with her, holding her and having her hold you could fix any terrible day you might have. It could end a great day on a high note. Waking up with her would definitely make you a morning person. You'd never want to have to go to sleep because you can just be with her all the time, laying in bed.

 

You tilt your head up so that your lips can meet hers. It's a kiss that just means that you love her. That everything that just happened was because you love her more than you ever thought you could love anyone. That moving in with her is the best decision you've ever made because you can never be around her too much. That just telling her you love her isn't enough anymore because it's so much more than that.

 

You don't know how long you've been kissing her, but you know that you could do it all night. However, you know that she's tired. She's had a long, stressful week and she probably needs to sleep it off.

 

You break the kiss and move into her, draping one of your arms across her stomach. Your head falls on the same pillow that Brittany's is on and she quickly kisses your forehead before constricting her arms around you. "I love you so much," she whispers.

 

You try to open your mouth to speak, but your body is entirely more exhausted than you thought. It's a struggle to tap your fingers against her side, letting her know that you're awake, but barely.

 

She chuckle and rubs your back. "Me too," she mumbles against your hair.

 

It only takes a few more minutes for all speech and movements to stop because you have both fallen asleep together, in your bed, in the living room of the house that you share.


	18. Assassin by John Mayer

You wake up before Brittany does the next morning. She looks so beautiful just lying there and you try your best to stay still so that she doesn't wake up. You ended up on your back and her head is on your shoulder. You can't resist stroking her hair.

 

But the stroking slowly wakes her up. She smiles as soon as her eyes open. Then she kisses you and the puts her head back on your shoulder, "How long have you been up?"

 

"A few minutes," you smile at the sound of her raspy, sleepy voice. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

 

"It's okay," she wraps her arms around your waist and nuzzles into your neck. "I'm glad you're here."

 

"Me too," you kiss the top of her head and play with her fingers that are resting on your stomach. You're so glad that no one needed you last night at the hospital last night. You lay for a few minutes, just touching her. "I'm going to make you breakfast."

 

"You are?" Brittany says. She rolls onto her stomach and pushes up on elbows that are on either side of you.

 

You nod. "It's going to rock your world."

 

She chuckles and kisses you, "Thank you."

 

You get out of bed and pull on one of Brittany's t-shirts and some shorts from the dresser that's still in the living room. Then you walk in into the kitchen. You don't know what you're going to make because you're not sure what's in the kitchen, but you will definitely make the best of it. You put your hair up and get ready to get to work.

 

You're halfway into the huevos rancheros when the doorbell rings. Brittany calls from the living room, "I got it."

 

As you finish up breakfast and split them onto two plates, Brittany walks into the kitchen with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. "Thank you."

 

You quirk an eyebrow, "For what?"

 

"These flowers," she sets the vase down on the table.

 

You frown and set the plates down on the table, "I didn't send those."

 

Brittany puts her hands on her hips like she doesn't believe you. "Really?"

 

You nod and walk over to them. The little plastic fork that holds the card fell down into the flowers and you fish it and the card out. You hand it to Brittany because it's hers, but you want to know who is sending flowers to your girlfriend.

 

Brittany opens the card and her eyes scan the page. You watch her eyes and see her read it more than once. Then she closes it and swallows. You're immediately concerned, "What's wrong? Who is it from?"

 

Brittany rips the card in half and tosses it in the garbage, "It doesn't matter."

 

"It does too," you protest, wanting to know what the hell is going on and why she's upset.

 

"Don't worry about it," she says, dumping the vase with the flowers into the garbage as well.

 

That definitely surprises you. You don't know who the flowers would be from that would upset her that much. Then when you set Brittany down at the table, it hits you.

 

"Those are from Quinn aren't they?" you ask as you get her some water.

 

When you set it down and look at her face, you know that you're right. You sit down in the chair next to her and pick up your fork, "I saw her the other night."

 

"You did?" Brittany asks. She's trying to stay calm and not show any emotion, but you can see it.

 

You nod, "I wasn't really sure it was her though. It was late and I thought I might have been hallucinating or something." You take a bite of your food trying to do the same thing that Brittany's doing. Just keep going on like it's nothing, although you're dying to know what the card says. "But I guess it was."

 

Brittany takes a bite of her breakfast and says, "This is really good."

 

"My Abuela taught me how to make it," you answer, dryly.

 

You finish breakfast in silence and you pick up both of the empty plates and take them to the sink where you rinse them off. As you're turning the water off, you feel Brittany walk up behind you. She presses the front of her body against the back of yours. Both of her hands span the small of your back, her pinkies resting against the top of your ass. You feel a light kiss fall on the back of your neck. "I'm sorry."

 

You take a deep breath, "It's okay."

 

She tugs your shirt to the side and kisses the top of your shoulder that she exposes. "It's not. I should have told you. I don't want you to get upset. This weekend is supposed to be great because we're moving in together. I don't want her to mess it up."

 

You tilt your head so that Brittany can easily get to your neck. "I understand." You turn around and her hands rest on your hips.

 

She kisses your lips and then your forehead. "I'm so glad you're here."

 

You move your arms around her neck and just hold her against you. You both just stand there until the doorbell rings again.

 

This time you go with Brittany to get it. It's not flowers or Quinn. Or anything to do with her. It's your floor stacked neatly on the front porch in six long boxes. The guy asks for "Satana" Lopez. Brittany thinks it's hilarious and you just sign the paper he gives you.

 

"If you ever call me Satana, you're never having sex again," you warn her as you carry in the first box together.

 

She just giggles and smiles her little innocent smile at you.

 

When you get to the bedroom, you open up the box and look expectantly at Brittany. She looks expectantly back. You quirk an eyebrow, "Well?"

 

She smiles, "You opened the box like you knew what you were doing."

 

"I know how to open boxes," you say. "Mostly shoeboxes."

 

She laughs and picks up a long board, "These go together," she picks up another one and snaps them together, "Like this." She sets them down and walks over to you, pressing her hand to the small of your back, pulling you in for a kiss. "I'm going to go get the tools and we'll fix our bedroom."

 

You get bored putting the floor in. Brittany's mostly using you as a weight to hold things down while she wields her tools like a pro. You even start playing Angry Birds while you're sitting on the board that she's working on.

 

"You're the best helper I've ever had," Brittany says as you're about halfway through the room.

 

You grin. "Thanks."

 

Your phone buzzes in your hand and open the text. It's not from a number you know, but it says _Thanks for taking care of Puckasauras and the boys. Maybe we can have a beer sometime. Talk about our old ladies and stuff. Later - Puck._

 

You laugh and when Brittany asks what happened you show her the text. She just looks confused and you realize that you never told her about Puck getting hit in the nuts. You explain the whole story and Brittany smiles, although it's not the smile you were expecting.

 

You text Puck back asking how is date went. He tells you that he and Lauren have been on a lot of dates since then and are starting to get serious. You look over at Brittany, "Who is the wrestling coach?"

 

"Lauren Zises," Brittany answers, "Why?"

 

"I don't think I've ever met her," you try to remember if you did. "Puck says that they're getting serious."

 

"That'd be a first for him," Brittany says hitting one of the board particularly hard.

 

You yelp and jump up off of the board because you think your ass got pinched between two of the boards. You check and see that there's a little part of your ass that's pink. "Ow."

 

Brittany reaches up and runs her hand over it, "I'm sorry."

 

"I know you don't like Puck because he slept with Quinn, but he's a good guy now and you're the only one I want to sleep with," you say gently. "I'm not Quinn. I won't hurt you like she did." You feel like this is important to get out because you are moving in together and you don't want there to be anything between you. Even if it is this old thing that you thought was dealt with.

 

Brittany wipes her cheek with the back of her hand. "I know. I'm sorry." She drops her head.

 

You reach your hand down to her, "C'mon. We're taking a break."

 

"We?" she asks playfully, but takes your hand.

 

You pull her up, "I have an injury."

 

"Do you want me to kiss it for you?" she asks, leaning in for a kiss.

 

You meet her halfway and nod, "Later." You take her hand and pull her into the living room. You sit her down on the bed and sit down in front of her. You lay down on the bed and look up at the ceiling. She follows your lead. "When my mom was little, Abuela took my mom to the kitchen table and sat her down. She told my mom that that was their safe place. They could talk about anything there. That my mom could say anything she needed to say and she wouldn't be interrupted or judged for it. I know that sometimes that doesn't work and things happen, but I want our bed to be our safe place. So if you ever want to say something to me or you have any concerns or you just need to tell me something, you can do it here."

 

Brittany moves her head over to your pillow and her head rests against your shoulder. You rest your head against hers. "Okay."

 

You both lay there for a moment. You're about to tell her the rule obviously attaches to bed so when it moves, your safe place is in your bedroom, when she speaks.

 

"Quinn wants me to a meet her tonight at the high school football field," Brittany breathes out.

 

You feel like you've just been punched in the stomach. Just when you take a step forward with Brittany, Quinn steps up and tries to push you backward. "Why there?"

 

"It's where we first kissed," Brittany offers.

 

You lick your lips. "Are you going to go?"

 

"I wasn't going to, but now I'm starting to think it might be a good idea," Brittany says.

 

You understand why she thinks so and you do remember that you just christened the bed as a safe place. You can't really tell her that you don't want her to here.

 

"Will you come?" Brittany asks. You see her look at you out of the corner of your eye and look back at her.

 

You take a deep breath, "Of course." You really don't want to see Quinn after you dropped her off at the airport and she told you she was leaving, but she apparently didn't or she came back.

 

"I love you Santana," she kisses you. "I know this is uncomfortable for you."

 

You close your eyes and rest your forehead against hers. "It's going to be really awkward."

 

"You don’t' have to go," Brittany says. "Or you could bring Puck."

 

"Bring Puck?" you ask.

 

"I can't keep being mad at him for sleeping with Quinn," Brittany shrugs, "We can go out for drinks afterward. If you're friends, then I need to get over it."

 

"You don't have to get over it," you offer.

 

She shakes her head, "I do. He didn't do anything wrong. No one knew about Quinn and me."

 

"Are you sure?" you ask her. "We could double tonight with Puck and Lauren. I sorta want to meet the woman that can put up with dating him."

 

Brittany cracks a smile, "Okay. You should call him."

 

You nod. "We should go finish the bedroom so we can move everything back and I can go get my clothes."

 

"We?" Brittany smirks.

 

"Who is going to sit on the boards if I don't?" you ask back, rolling off of the mattress. You help her up and start taking the sheets off of the bed.

 

"What are you doing?" she asks from behind you.

 

"You're sweaty so I'm washing the sheets," you explain. You look over you shoulder at her, "It's sweet sweat and entirely sexy, but... I'm still washing the sheets."

 

She laughs and walks back toward the bedroom. You throw the sheets in the washing machine that's right off of the kitchen and then walk back into the bedroom to resume your job as the weight.

 

You text Puck. He agrees to go with you to meet Quinn and you're all going to pick up Lauren afterwards.

 

So after you and Brittany finish putting the flooring in (and beating your high score on Angry Birds) you and Brittany move all the furniture back into the bedroom. You get the sheets out of the dryer as you send Brittany into the shower. You didn't actually sweat all that much so you're just going to borrow some of her clothes. After you make the bed, Brittany’s still in the shower so you go next door and get Dave. He offers to turn the electricity in Brittany's room back on, but you want him to show you in case something happens later so that you can take care of it.

 

After that you hug Dave and tell him that you're moving in so you'll have to have him over for dinner some time. He agrees and offers to help you move whatever stuff you're moving in.

 

Then when you get back into the house, Brittany is wrapped up in a towel, laying on the bed.

 

You walk over to the bed and straddle her hips.

 

She looks up at you and says, "Hey, I just got clean."

 

You just smile and play with the hem of the towel that's laying up and down her left side. "We're really moving in together huh?"

 

"We are," she smiles, putting her hands on your thighs. She sits up and kisses you.

 

You lace your fingers behind her neck, "The floor looks great."

 

"Well, I had help," she kisses you again.

 

You tug at her towel and kiss her neck, then her shoulder. You look up at the clock on the nightstand that's still blinking 12:00 because neither one of you set it. You pull the towel open and push Brittany back onto her back. Quinn can wait.

 

You still roll up to the high school football field fifteen minutes early with Puck in the backseat. He has the key to the field and unlocks the gate. Brittany starts making her way up into the bleachers and you and Puck go turn the lights on. You and Brittany agreed that she would talk to Quinn alone, but you would be close enough that if she needed you.

 

Once the field lights are on, Puck picks up a spare football and throws it to you. You barely catch it. "I played volleyball," you tell him.

 

He smiles, "Sorry."

 

You toss it back to him and it barely makes it.

 

You look up at bleachers and see Quinn walk up the stairs through the opening in the risers. She looks dramatic in a long tan coat with a green scarf. Her hair blows in the wind, but elegantly so. You have to admit that she's beautiful. Her jaw is set and she walks slowly, the flaps of her coat hitting her boot-covered shins. If Quinn and Rachel could stand to be around each other, they'd be great friends with a flair for the dramatic.

 

Puck walks over to you and stands next to you as you watch Quinn stop in front of Brittany who stands. "It must be rough."

 

You shrug and look away. You don't want to watch, but you have to make sure that Brittany's okay so you look up at the bleachers. You look up just in time to see Quinn brush some of Brittany's bangs out of her face. You clench your fist and are ready to go up there and beat the shit out of Quinn when Brittany pulls away and shakes her head.

 

"Do you want to go up there?" Puck asks.

 

You shake your head, "Brittany needs to do this. If I'm up there, Quinn isn't going to stop because she'll think that I'm making Brittany say things she doesn't mean."

 

He nods, "That makes sense."

 

You put your hands in your pockets at the wind picks up, carrying away any chance you have of hearing what they're talking about. You start walking across the field with Puck next to you.

 

"I had no idea that Quinn and Brittany were ever together," Puck says as you walk. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his old worn out jacket.

 

"Quinn didn't want anyone to know," you say, glancing back up at them. Brittany has turned, facing Quinn all the way. She's listening intently to everything Quinn is saying. Quinn looks like she's passionately pleading her case to Brittany. Your stomach ties into knots just thinking about what she could be saying.

 

"This has really gotta suck for you," Puck offers kindly, "Having to watch them and not know what they're saying."

 

You nod, "I'm definitely going to need that drink after this."

 

"I know the best bar in town," Puck assures you. "The bartender is a buddy of mine from high school. He'll hook us up."

 

You look back up at Brittany and Quinn. From this angle you can see Quinn's face more clearly than you can see Brittany's. You see her eyes flicker down to you and you hold her eyes for about ten seconds before she rips away. She doesn't hesitate to move in and kiss Brittany.

 

Brittany pushes her off immediately and stands up. You're halfway up the stairs as Quinn stands up too.

 

You're beyond pissed. You stop on the row of bleachers below Quinn and demand, "What the fuck is your problem?"

 

"This doesn't concern you," Quinn dismisses you.

 

"You kissed my girlfriend. It's my problem," you step up on the next bleacher between Quinn and Brittany.

 

Quinn exaggerates shock, "She's your girlfriend now? Because she never mentioned that."

 

"I don't care if she mentioned it," you say ready to protect what you have. "Brittany is my girlfriend. She's not your plaything." You now what she's trying to do. She's trying to plant seeds of doubt in your mind so that they'll grow and you'll get paranoid causing your breakup with Brittany. Quinn plays mind games like a pro, but she's not going to get into your head. "She's given you chance after chance to be a human and be her friend. I get that Brittany is someone that you want to have in your life, but this is not how to do that."

 

"Who do you even think you are?" Quinn asks, "I was talking to Brittany. Not you. So take a step back."

 

"No. You're done bullying her," you stand in front of her, unmoving.

 

You hear the sound of skin hitting skin before you feel the sting on your cheek. Then Quinn says, "Don't you dare accuse me of bullying Brittany."

 

You're still stunned from the slap, but your fingers curl into fists. You feel gentle fingers wrap around your left wrist, stopping your strong hand from going after Quinn.

 

"Quinn," Brittany steps up next to you, keeping her hand on your wrist. "I can't be around you anymore. Especially if you're going to kiss me and hit Santana. It's not okay. So stay away from us. Stay away from Summer and stay away from our house. I really wanted to be friends with you, but I can't see that happening right now." Brittany slips her hand down to yours and laces your fingers together.

 

Before you know it, you're being pulled away from Quinn with Puck right behind you. Once you're in the parking lot, Brittany reaches into your jacket pocket and pulls out your car keys. She tosses them to Puck then pulls you into the backseat.

 

"I've been wanting to drive this thing," Puck feels the steering wheel before starting it.

 

You warn him as you lean over the passenger's seat to grab your purse, "If you do anything to my car, I'll break every bone in your body and then charge you double to fix them all.

 

You fall back into the seat and grab your mirror out of your purse.

 

"I can't believe she did that," Brittany says, turning the backseat light on and looking at your face. Brittany still looks slightly stunned.

 

"It's okay. I was scared that my black eye was going to go away or something," you open the mirror and look at your face. There's nothing really there. It's just a little red spot and a tiny scratch.

 

"I don't remember Quinn being that insane," Puck says as he pulls out of the parking lot.

 

"Me either," Brittany exhales. She gently takes your face in her hands and kisses the pink part of your cheek. "I'm sorry."

 

"So not your fault," you shake your head. You pull out a small round container of powder and use it to cover up the red. "Look, it never happened."

 

When you pick up Lauren, she doesn't look like you figured someone like Puck would date. You thought he was super shallow. It made sense that he would sleep with Quinn, but Lauren is the opposite of Quinn. She's really nice though and has a sense of humor that you, coming from your family, appreciate.

 

At the bar, you all sit around a tall table and you order shots with beer chasers for the table. Puck raises his shot and makes a toast, "To crazy bitches that get us ready for the real catch."

 

"Cheers," Brittany taps her shot to Puck's and then smiles at you. You see that Puck and Lauren are across the table sharing the same smile.

 

Once the shot is down, Puck orders nachos for the table. You like this bar. It reminds you of the ones you went to during your undergrad after you just got out of the club. Where you'd cool down with beer and burgers.

 

Lauren, Puck, and Brittany keep talking about high school. Puck puts a nacho in his mouth and asks, "I heard Rachel came back to town after New York."

 

Brittany nods, "Her dad got sick so she came back."

 

"Why haven't you left?" he asks, "You have your kid now. She's older and you're back into the same shape you where in, in high school. Why don't you go to New York? Be a professional dancer. Santana would be a great trophy wife."

 

You chuckle and look over at Brittany. Brittany smiles, "I don't know. I have a lot of people here with me to think about. I can't just up and leave."

 

You smile and bump her shoulder, "You could. Chicago even. It's closer to your parents."

 

"Are you saying you want to leave?" she asks.

 

You shrug. "I'm okay here, but if dance is your dream, I want to do it. I'll go with you anywhere."

 

She looks down into her beer bottle and spins it around in her hand. "I don't know. It's a big change."

 

"Moving here was a big change, but I'd say it was the best change I've ever made," you tell her. "You don't have to make a decision now. You can think about it or you can completely discard the idea. It's up to you." You kiss her temple and pick up a nacho.

 

You look across the table. You see Puck looking at Lauren like Brittany looks at you and you find him to be less arrogant when he does things like that. They kiss and you say, "Get a room."

 

They both laugh at you and you take Brittany's hand under the table. "C'mon," you grab one last nacho and slide off of your stool. "We need more drinks and some music."

 

Brittany is happy to be drug along behind you. When you get to the jukebox, you place her hand on your hip so that her arm is crossing your back and she's right behind you. She starts pressing the buttons to look at all the song selections.

 

"What do you want to listen to?" she asks.

 

You shrug, "I don't care."

 

She picks a song and grins at you. You grin back. She starts singing to you as she spins you around and then traps you in a ballroom dance position. "Hey over there, please forgive me if I'm coming on too strong." She starts backing you up before dipping you.

 

You laugh as she keeps singing, pulling you up to softly sing the chorus in your ear, "If I said my heart was beating loud. If we could escape the crowd somehow. If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?"

 

She takes your breath away, the way she dances and the way she sings. How she holds you and how you can feel her body pressed against yours as you moves you across the small space by the jukebox.

 

When the song is over, you walk to the bar and order another round for your table. The bartender gives you and Brittany mixed drinks on the house for yours and Brittany's little performance.

 

You call Rachel and try to get her to come out. She brings Sam and you find that all of these high school friends can come together like they never left William McKinley High. You call Mercedes, but she's still at work.

 

You get challenged to a game of darts by Puck and you both move to the dart area. He goes first and you look over your shoulder, catching Brittany watching you. You shook her a wink and she grins back. She comes over a minute later and seems to be chaperoning your dart game. She’s cute when she’s making sure no one is trying to make a move on you.

 

After you throw, you walk over to the bar stool she’s sitting on and stand between her legs, leaning back on her. She moves your hair out of her way and kisses you neck. You close your eye and enjoy the feel.

 

“Lopez,” Puck calls. “You’re up.”

 

You finish off Brittany’s drink and kiss her before resuming your game.

 

You all close the bar down. You and Rachel switched to water around one so by two you're both okay to drive. You drive Puck and Lauren back to her place before driving back to your house. You still smile when you think about it. You share a home with Brittany now. You grin like a fool when you use your key to open the door with Brittany draped over your back.

 

You get her inside and strip her out of her clothes. She's a little tipsy still, but she pulls you down onto the bed and kisses you deeply. She keeps holding onto the front of your shirt when she breaks the kiss to say, "You're incredible."

 

You smile. "You are too."

 

"No," she let's go of you so that you can get your clothes off. "How you handled Quinn. It was incredible."

 

You crawl into bed with her, "It wasn't a big deal."

 

"I love you," she pulls you toward her. Then she rolls onto her back, pulling you on top of her. Her hands push from your sides to your back and down to your ass.

 

You hum and roll your hips into her. She grins at you, pulling you down for a kiss. She tries to be sneaky about it, but you feel her hands slip under your underwear to cup your ass. She squeezes and slips her thigh between your legs.

 

"Mmm, Britt," you moan as she pulls you against her. You dip down to kiss her, erasing every remnant of Quinn's lips that there might be and replacing it with the promise that you belong to Brittany and Brittany belongs to you.

 

When you wake up the next morning, you find yourself in bed next to a wide-awake Brittany. It looks like she's grading papers, sitting up and leaning back against the headboard. You're not quite ready for morning so you pull the blanket over your head and nuzzle against the outside of her thigh. She quietly laughs and gently rubs the top of your head.

 

You lay there for a moment before you get a naughty idea. You move as stealthily as possible over her leg and settle between her legs. You softly kiss the inside of her thigh and then do the same with the other side.

 

You give Brittany a proper good morning on your first morning living together in your finished bedroom. Then you push the covers off of your head as you lick your lips, not wanting to waste anything. Then you lean forward and kiss her lips as she's still panting.

 

You smile at her still dazed state and kiss her again, "Good morning."

 

"Good morning," she breathes and finally gets her wits about her.

 

"I'll go start the coffee," you give her another kiss and then crawl out of bed.

 

After the coffee is started you pad back into the bedroom and grab one of Brittany's hoodies and some shorts. You're about to get away when you're tackled onto the bed. Brittany is in a tank top and underwear, triumphantly sitting on top of you. She bends her head down and kisses your lips. "Let's go get your clothes so you can't change your mind."

 

"I won't change my mind," you kiss her deeply.

 

"In that case, you look hot in my clothes," she grins and kisses you again.

 

Eventually you get out of bed. The coffee is done and you pour some for both of you. Brittany sits down at the table and you stand at the refrigerator, "What are we going to have for breakfast?"

 

Brittany shrugs. "Whatever you want."

 

"Cereal it is," you grab the milk and then get the bowls.

 

After breakfast, you call your mom to make sure she's awake before you go over and start loading up your clothes and small stuff. Your mom says that her clothes are arriving tomorrow so you're getting you stuff out just in time.

 

When you get back to your house, you and Brittany try to figure out how to fit all of your clothes in the closet and the dresser. It forces both of you to get rid of clothes you haven't worn in a while.

 

"You can't give this away," Brittany picks up a tight black cocktail dress with a white design down one side of it.

 

You shrug, "I don't have anywhere to wear it."'

 

She looks it over, "You're keeping it."

 

You shrug "Okay, but it's just going to take up space in the back of the closet." You're occupied trying to decide what shoes you want to get rid of. The answer is none of them, but there's not enough room for all of them so you've just been staring at the line of them you put on the floor by the bed.

 

Your arms are crossed and you stare hard at them. You're about to reach for your black sling backs, but you remember that those are great for medical galas because they're not terribly uncomfortable. Of course all of your stilettos are staying. And you love all of your boots.

 

Brittany walks up behind you, slipping her arms around your waist. "You can keep all of them. We can get one of those under the bed storage boxes. You can put your sandals under there now and then we'll put your boots up in the spring and get those out."

 

You turn around in her arms and give her a hug, "You're my hero."

 

She laughs and hugs you back.

 

"Babe, I just want you to know that whatever you want to do is okay. You live here too," she says. "If you want to decorate something or change something you can do it."

 

You smirk and decide to play with her a little bit, "Well, I think we need a different floor."

 

She smiles back and kisses your forehead, "Sure. You have fun putting it in." She walks back into the closet as you laugh.

 

Brittany's parents come over with Summer. They all admire the bedroom floor. Then Brittany takes her dad to talk outside about something that you're apparently not supposed to know about. It's okay though. You're going to start dinner because Summer has school tomorrow. You got an A in your nutrition class in med school and you're going to put it to use.

 

"Can I help?" Summer asks as you pull some broccoli out of the refrigerator.

 

"Of course," you hand her the broccoli. "Hold that and I'll get the carrots."

 

"Is that all we're having?" Summer asks with a scrunched up nose.

 

"We're having stir-fry," you tell her. "So you're going to wash the vegetables."

 

You push a chair up to the sink and put Summer in it. You teach her how to do it quickly and leave her to it while you chop up some chicken and throw it into a wok that you found in the cabinet. You season it and start it to cooking. Then when Summer is done, you chop up the vegetables and throw it all together. You season it some more and toss it.

 

You have Summer set the table while she talks to her grandma who is sitting at the table, drinking some water.

 

You look over your shoulder at you, "Are you staying for dinner?"

 

"Oh no," she shakes her head, "Although that smells amazing. We have reservations at my favorite Italian restaurant. But we'll definitely have to have dinner sometime."

 

You agree and stir the food. While it's still cooking, you get everyone's drinks. Just are you're putting the food on the table, Brittany walks in with her dad.

 

Her dad takes her mom to dinner and Brittany sits down at the table. "I was only outside for twenty minutes and you made dinner."

 

"I had help," you wink at Summer.

 

Summer grins back and you sit down.

 

When dinner is over Brittany insists on doing the dishes. You sweep up the kitchen because you're sure you made a mess. Then when the kitchen is clean, you put your hands on your hips, "What do we do now?"

 

"Well, I am going to make sure that Summer's homework is done and then put some of her clothes in the washing machine because I completely forgot," Brittany says, leaning back on the counter next to you. "You can relax. Do whatever you usually do."

 

"I lay on the couch and stare at the TV," you answer. That does sound really bad.

 

She laughs and kisses your cheek, "Well the remote is on the couch."

 

You instead follow Brittany around, trying to get a feel for what she does in the evening. You learn what settings Summer's clothes get washed on and exactly when her bedtime is. Once Summer is in bed and you've both kissed her goodnight, you keep following Brittany around.

 

Finally, as she's walking into the dance room, she turns around and puts her hands on her hips. "Can I help you?"

 

You blush bashfully. You didn't realize that you were actually following her around. You don't have an answer so you just stand there and look at her.

 

Finally she laughs and turns back around. She walks into the room and you linger in the doorway. She walks to the middle of the room and starts stretching. You know that she probably does this by herself everyday, but you can't help but stand there and watch. She looks so focused.

 

You eventually sit down in the doorway and lean back on the wall. She continues to stretch before finally practicing a few new moves. Then she turns on some music and dances.

 

If you were an emotional person, watching her dance would make you cry, but being you it just deeply touches your soul. The way she moves and how happy she looks as she's leaping through the air. You just.... you catch a tear tracking its way down your cheek.

 

You wipe your eyes as she stops and stand up.

 

"Do you do that every night?" you ask her as she walks over to you.

 

She nods, "When I can."

 

You wrap your arms around her shoulders and hug her. She just holds you around your waist. "Are you okay?" she asks.

 

You nod. "You're so incredible."

 

She asks you why and you just kiss her. Then you go into the bedroom and get ready for bed. She comes in a few minutes later and changes into some pajamas. You find yourself excited for her to get into bed with you. You just want to be able to touch such a beautiful person. Now that you think about it, the fact that she's yours blows your mind.

 

After she turns off the lights, she puts her hair up as she stands next to the bed. Then she gets into the bed, you meet her in the middle and wrap yourself around her.

 

She smoothes out your hair and kisses you. "Are you sure you're okay?"

 

"I'm great," you  place a chaste kiss on her neck. "Goodnight Brittany."

 

"Goodnight," she says into the dark of the bedroom and kisses the top of your head. "I love you."


	19. Forever Love (Digame) by Anna Nalick

Living with another adult and a child does take some getting used to. You can't take a shower whenever you feel like it. You learned that the hard way because you got into the shower right as Brittany started to do laundry once. That was the coldest, fastest shower of your life.

 

You're better about picking up the clothes that you'd usually leave on the floor. You don't leave dirty dishes in the sink. You're learning how to cook new things. You even helped host a badass Thanksgiving that you secretly had a small team of maids clean up while you took Brittany and Summer shopping.

 

It's a freezing outside when you fight to stay in bed on a Saturday morning. Brittany and Summer are leaving you alone because there was a bad sledding accident outside of town and you spent twelve hours yesterday in the operating room repairing skulls and broken fibulas.

 

You want to go back to sleep and you've been trying for at least half and hour, but you just can't. You give up and decide to get up. You can have some tea and see what the girls are up to. You pull on your favorite hoodie, which used to belong to Brittany before you commandeered it. Then you pull on some of her sweat pants that are lying across the foot of the bed. Then you pull on some of your fuzzy boots.

 

When you start to walk into the living room, Summer runs toward you, "Don't look! Mommy's wrapping your present!"

 

You chuckle, "Okay. Ask Mommy if she wants some tea." You walk back to the kitchen and use the kettle your mom bought you to start some water to boiling.

 

Summer walks into the kitchen and tells you that Brittany wants some of whatever you're having. You ask Summer if she wants some, but apparently tea is an acquired taste because she sticks her tongue out at you. You get her some milk instead. Then you make the tea and sit down at the table, pulling your feet up into the chair. You look out the window and watch the overcast sky grow darker. You're glad that your house is warm.

 

You take a sip of your tea and yawn.

 

"Why are you up?" Brittany walks in and kisses the top of your head.

 

You shrug, "I don't know. I can't sleep."

 

She gets her tea and moves one of the chairs at the table over next to yours and sits down. She puts her arm around you and you lean into her.

 

"What did you get me?" you ask.

 

She chuckles, "I can't tell you."

 

"Have you given any more thought to my idea for Summer's present?" you ask, eyeing the doorway to the living room to make sure that Summer can't hear.

 

Brittany rests her chin on top of your head, "A puppy is a big responsibility."

 

"I do surgery. I think I'm responsible enough for puppy," you tell her.

 

"I was talking about Summer," she smiles at you, "Or is the puppy really for you?"

 

You furrow your eyebrows, "Oh. Um... I never got to have a puppy so I thought that we could share?"

 

"You're adorable," Brittany squeezes you around your shoulders. "We'll keep talking about it okay?"

 

You nod. You understand Brittany's reluctance. You just think that it could be nice. You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You wish you could have slept longer. You know you could have if Brittany had stayed in bed with you.

 

"You should go back to bed," she offers.

 

"I can't," you shake your head. "I'm already up and you're gone."

 

"I'm sorry," she tells you, "I figured it would be the only time I had to wrap your presents."

 

"It's okay," you lean into her more. "Have you both already eaten?"

 

"Yeah," she kisses your forehead. "Do you want me to make you something?"

 

"No," you shake your head, "There's some leftover stuff in the refrigerator." You get up and look in the refrigerator. You don't really want to make anything. You're about to go back to bed without eating until Brittany walks up behind you and takes out the eggs. She kisses your cheek and tells you to sit at the table.

 

You smile and watch her quickly make you an omelet. She takes great care of you. She knew that you were going to look in the refrigerator, not see anything that you could immediately eat, and close the refrigerator. You see that her laptop is sitting on the table, so you turn it around and open it to check your email. When the screen comes to life, you see something you don't expect. The page is titled "America's Best Dance Conservatories."

 

A wide smile grows on your face. She's actually thinking about dancing. You're so excited about it. You see how happy she is when she dances. You want that happiness for her all the time.

 

When she walks over, you open up a new window. She didn't tell you what she was doing so you're not sure she wants you to know yet. You log into your email and take another sip of your tea.

 

"I have to change my email," you tell Brittany as she sits down next to you, "The teachers seem to think that my email is their personal webMD."

 

“They’re starting to ask me for your phone number,” Brittany smiles, "It's just because you're the best doctor in the state."

 

"What are you talking about state?" you ask, picking up your fork and cutting up your omelet, "I'm the best doctor in the Midwest."

 

She laughs with you, but you know that she really does think so. And she makes you feel like you are.

 

Brittany asks you what you want to do today. You want to do something with Summer because you feel like you haven't seen her a whole lot this week. She's had dance and you've had surgeries. Plus for the past three Saturdays you've all stayed in because you've been recovering from your busy medical week. Ice and snow make for lots of broken bones and some of the wealthier people in town want their bones set by a specialist even though there are plenty of people in the hospital that can do it.

 

You call Summer into the kitchen and ask her what she wants to do. She tells you that she wants to go ice-skating. You smile. She loves skating. You’ve taken her before, but you get nervous with all the blades around and you hover over Summer, which Brittany thinks is cute.

 

You tell her to go get ready as you finish up your breakfast. Then you turn back to the laptop and open up the window Brittany was looking at. You see that one of the top hundred dance conservatories in the country is forty-five minutes away. You also happen to find an ice skating rink in the same city near the conservatory. It never hurts to look right?

 

Just as you're getting ready, you get a phone call. You pray that it's not work. You really want to take Summer today. Pretty soon you're going to have to quit your job at the school district because the hospital keeps calling you. People from neighboring towns have even started to fly or drive patients from their local hospital to yours because word got out that you're a brilliant surgeon.

 

But you like working with the kids. Sometimes it's nice to have patients that can talk back.

 

You grab your phone off of the bed and see that it's Rachel. "Hey, what's up?" you answer.

 

"Quinn was flirting with Sam!" Rachel squeals. You take the phone away from your ear and shake your head hoping that you can still hear when the day is done.

"What do you mean?" you ask. It was really too much to ask her to go back to wherever she lives and actually have a life, wasn't it?

 

"Sam and I went out to dinner and Quinn was there with some woman, I don't know who it was, but she was flirting with Sam!" Rachel says again.

 

You exhale and listen to every detail of the event. You sit down on the bed and nod along with the story, believing every word. When the story is over, you ask, "Do you know where she's staying?"

 

"She says that she's house sitting for her mom," Rachel says, exasperated.

 

"Okay," you take a deep breath and try to talk yourself out of what you're going to say. You say it anyway, "I'll take care of it."

 

"What do you- are you going to hurt her?" Rachel asks in a whisper like you're entering into some kind of conspiracy together.

 

"No," you slightly smile, "I'm just going to try to get to her one more time before I call my attorney and have a restraining order filed against her."

 

"I'd do it now!" Rachel protests, "She's crossed so many lines already! Why are you going to try to talk to her?"

 

You really don't want to admit it, but you see a lot of yourself in Quinn. Maybe in another life you'd have been friends. You quarrel with yourself over this for a few more seconds of silence. You don't want to get the restraining order because you feel like that would just provoke her. You want this to be amicable. You want to talk to her and get her to see what she's doing and how she's really affecting everyone. You try to convey this to Rachel who still thinks you're a loon, but you tell her that Brittany has taught you the value of patience and understanding.

 

"Brittany's made you soft," Rachel teases.

 

You smile, "Maybe." Brittany has rounded out most of your rough edges.

 

"Thanks for listening to my crazy," Rachel says, "Let me know how it goes with Quinn."

 

You get directions to Quinn’s mom’s house from Rachel. "I don't know when I'll get around to it because we're going ice skating today, but I'll definitely let you know," you say back to her. "Oh, remind me later to ask you about performing arts school thingies."

 

"School thingies?" Rachel asks back. You can hear the amusement in her voice.

 

You roll your eyes, "Whatever. Can we have lunch Monday?"

 

"Of course," Rachel answers, "Thank you Santana."

 

"Yeah, yeah," you brush it off and hang up with her.

 

A second later, Brittany walks into the bedroom, "Hey who was that?"

 

"Rachel," you say and pull on your boots. You grab your keys and claim the right to drive.

 

"What if I want to drive?" she asks, "And what did Rachel want?"

 

"Quinn has struck again," you reply, knowing that you won't lie to Brittany about something like this. You look over at her, "Rachel wanted to rant. I'm going to see her after we get home and Summer's in bed."

 

"Rachel?" Brittany asks, sitting down next to you.

 

"Quinn," you state.

 

Brittany doesn't look happy with that and she looks like she wants to say something about it. You're pretty surprised when she actually does. "Why?"

 

You try to tell Brittany what you told Rachel. You add that it's a small town and Quinn can pretty much be everywhere when she's in town. You tell her that she and Brittany have mutual friends and that sometimes she's going to see her. You're just trying to make sure that Quinn won't cause any more trouble.

 

Brittany looks down at her hands and bites her lip. "What are you going to do?"

 

"We're just going to talk," you say. You pat her leg, "It doesn't matter right now anyway. We're going ice skating."

 

You manage to get Brittany and Summer into the car and soon they're singing along to the radio. It takes a while and a stop at a coffee shop to get to the ice rink, but when you do it's worth it. There's a giant Christmas tree in the middle of it. It's outside so you love it that much more. There are trees and families. It makes you feel great about your family.

 

You look down between you and Brittany where Summer is holding both of your hands. She's really good and could go out on her own, but she likes holding hands.

 

You skate for hours and eventually Summer is worn out. That gives you a chance to drive a little out of the way and park in front of the conservatory. Brittany looks over at you, "What's this?"

 

"They have a store in here," you say what you rehearsed in your head, "I wanted to see if they have those tights that Summer wants."

 

Brittany quirks an eyebrow at you, but gets out with you and Summer. You open the door for them and you're immediately in the dance store. There's a young woman at the counter who looks like she's using it to stretch. You leave Summer and Brittany to look at tights.

 

"Hi," the woman smiles brightly at you, "How can I help you?"

 

You look behind you and see that Brittany is occupied, "I was looking on your website and I saw that you have a master class."

 

The woman grins. "Yes, we have two master classes." She picks up a brochure and opens it to show you. "The standard and the advanced."

 

"When is the advanced class?" you ask leaning on the counter, taking the brochure.

 

"Oh there aren't many people that are in the advanced master class," she tells you, kindly. "The most people don't make it past the audition so the schedule would depend on the dancer and Natalia."

 

"Natalia is the instructor right?" you ask. You read about her. She's a great instructor and has lectured all over the world according to her webpage.

 

The woman nods.

 

"So tell me about the audition process," you say and look over the brochure.

 

"Why?" Brittany asks, next to you. She crosses her arms with a pair of tiger striped tights under her arm.

 

You bite your lip.

 

"It's you," the woman behind the counter says.

 

Brittany blinks and looks back at the woman, "Have we met?"

 

"I don't think so," the woman smiles, "But someone sent in an audition video for you." She gets on the computer behind the counter, "Natalia wanted me to find out who you were, but there was never a name with the video. Just the email address."

 

Brittany looks at you, but you shrug. You have no idea what is going on.

 

"The email address is sloppybabycheerios," the woman states looking up from the computer.

 

"Oh my god, that's Coach Sylvester," Brittany looks at you. "Why would she do that?"

 

"She thinks you're great," you say. "She told me that she thinks you can be the best in the world."

 

"Can you stay here for a few minutes?" the girl asks, "I'm going to call Natalia. She wants to meet you. Please." She picks up the phone and dials.

 

"When did you talk to Coach Sylvester about me?" Brittany asks. She doesn't look happy. She looks downright pissed.

 

You lick your lips. "Britt, she just mentioned it to me that one time that we met. I didn't know that she sent anything to anyone."

 

"I thought you said that this was my decision to make," she tells you. She still looks mad and your stomach drops.

 

"Babe," you sigh, "I may have gone about this the wrong way, but this is really just getting more information so that you could look at it. I didn't know about the videos. I swear."

 

Brittany rubs her eyes. She doesn't say anything to you and you feel like you messed up really bad.

 

Summer walks up to you and holds up some pink hair bands with ballerinas on them, "Can I have these?"

 

"Sure," you put them on the counter next to her tights.

 

The front door opens and a tall, elegant looking woman with perfect posture steps in. Her hair is gray and up in a bun. You know who she is without introduction. She looks just like a dance instructor.

 

Natalia seems to know who Brittany is too. She walks right up to her. "I'm Natalia Resnov." She extends her hand to Brittany. Her voice only has a hint of some kind of eastern European accent.

 

Brittany shakes her hand. "I'm Brittany Pierce." She starts to open her mouth to tell her that there's been a mistake, you're sure, but Natalia doesn't give her a chance.

 

"May I talk to you privately?" she asks.

 

Brittany glances at you and you don't give her any indication of what you think. You're scared that you've overstepped already. Eventually Brittany agrees and walks with Natalia through a door in the back of the room.

 

"She's really incredible," the woman behind the counter says as she rings up your bill. "Natalia loves her lines."

 

You don't know what that means, but you nod and pay for Summer's stuff. Summer is leaning on your leg and you're sure she's tired.

 

"Is there anywhere to sit and wait for her?" you ask the woman, taking your bag.

 

"There's a couch in one of the dance rooms," she walks around the counter, "I'll take you to it."

 

You hold Summer's hand and keep the bag in your other hand. She shows you to the little dance room that's barely bigger than the one you have at home. There's a couch and a lamp on one side of the room. You thank the woman before she leaves and sit on the couch. Summer lies down with her head in your lap. You stroke her hair, knowing that she's going to sleep.

 

You don't know how long you sit there. You just feel a guilt eating at your stomach. You didn't mean for Brittany to get upset with you. You just wanted to get the information to give to her. So she could see what she could be doing and where she could be doing it. You pull up the best flower delivery place in Lima on your phone and place an order for the hugest bouquet of Brittany's favorite flowers.

 

You don't know how long it is when you see Brittany step into the room. You pick Summer up with a little difficulty and carry her out to the car with Brittany behind you.

 

Summer wakes up enough so that you can get her in the car and then you get in the driver's seat. Brittany is in the passenger's seat and when she buckles up, you start driving.

 

It's quiet for a few minutes before you finally decide to speak, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did. It was wrong. I should have just talked to you about it."

 

She reached over and takes your hand, "I forgive you."

 

You're dying to ask her how it went with Natalia. You want to know what they talked about.

 

"I'm going to come back next week and have a session with her," she says quietly. "I mean if you can watch Summer."

 

"Of course I can," you tell her. You're a little scared to let out a smile, so you rein it in a little, "You're going to try?"

 

Brittany slowly nods, "I just want to see what it's like."

 

You don't say anything after that. You don't want to dig a bigger hole for yourself by saying someone wrong.

 

When you get back to the house, the flowers you ordered on are on the front porch. She smiles at you and tells you that you didn't have to. She wasn't really that mad at you. You just kiss her and tell her that she was that mad at you. She laughs and you feel like you're okay again. After that, you get Summer inside and make dinner. She wakes up in time to eat and then goes back to sleep afterwards.

 

At the door, you kiss Brittany. "I'll be back later."

 

"How much later?" she asks. She puts her hands on your hips.

 

"I don't know," you shrug. "I'll call you though." You kiss her against. "I love you."

 

"I love you too," Brittany answers.

 

You stop by the liquor store and grab some things for your trip to Quinn's. When you get there, you're not sure that Quinn will even open the door or let you in, but you're going to try. You ring the doorbell of the huge house and look up and down the street. This is a really nice neighborhood.

 

It takes a minute before the door opens, but when it does, you see Quinn standing there with a robe on. She looks surprised to see you there. Her eyes are red and her hair is limp.

 

"We need to talk," you hold up the bottles in your hands, "I wasn't sure if you were a vodka or a whiskey girl."

 

"Why are you here?" she asks.

 

"I came to talk," you say.

 

She looks behind her and opens the door for you. You step inside and look around. The house is really nice. It's pristine except for a blanket that's draped over the couch. The TV is on, droning away with a reality show. You walk in with her and she falls back on the couch.

 

"Did you come over here to gloat?" she asks, tiredly, "You won and I lost. Brittany loves you and not me."

 

You decide that Quinn will be little help so you go into the kitchen and grab two glasses and a bottle of cranberry juice. Then you make her a strong vodka cranberry. As you hand it to her, you say, "No. I didn't come to gloat. I came to see if you were okay."

 

"Why?" she sighs and takes a sip.

 

"Because you need a friend," you pour yourself a drink and sit back on the couch.

 

"Fuck off. I don't need anyone," she huffs.

 

You're not offended in the least. You just sit there and drink your extremely weak drink.

 

"I was, um," Quinn polishes off her drinks and adds, "I was in this off Broadway play. It was supposed to be the next big thing. I felt great. Like all that work was worth it." She pours herself another drink and sits back, "Then I walk into the theatre one day and everything is gone. The set had been struck. I was the last person to know that the show had gone bankrupt."

 

You nod, "Must have been rough."

 

She shakes her head. "It wasn't really that I don't think. It was rejections for new auditions. Everyone thought that show had some bad... mojo or something. I can't get work."

 

"So you've been thinking about the past where you were happy," you add for her.

 

She nods. "And Brittany was a lot of that. She loved me. I've never felt like that before. You know how it is with her. It's amazing to be loved like that."

 

"I know," you sip your drink and are silently, extremely thankful that Brittany loves you. "Do you really love her? Like she loved you?"

 

Quinn stares at the TV but doesn't really see it. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. It's not like it matters." She finishes her second drink and pulls her knees to her chest.

 

"You know though that you can't keep coming at her. You're just pushing her away," you tell her softly.

 

"I know," Quinn drops her forehead on her knees. "I just... I would have done anything to be happy again."

 

"Like hit on Sam?" you ask.

 

Quinn's head picks up, "That was a mistake. I didn't know that he was dating Rachel. They're so wrong together."

 

"Do you think maybe you want to try to be friends?" you ask, "I really don't want you and Brittany to be left alone. At least for now. I want to help you, but if you kiss her again, so help me, I'll cut you."

 

"I know," she sighs heavily, "I'm sorry. I want to tell her I'm sorry. That was way out of line."

 

"Maybe after a little while. You hurt Brittany," you tell her and watch her make herself another drink. "But we can be friends. And I think you and Rachel should try to be friends too."

 

"Oh I don't know," Quinn shakes her head, "Rachel and I have always been at each other's throats."

 

"What better way to prove to yourself to Brittany and me for that matter, than to try be civil to Rachel?" you look down at your drink and then take a sip.

 

She doesn't say anything after that, seemingly just letting that sink in.

 

After a minute you ask, "How long are you in town?"

 

"I don't know," she rubs her eyes and leans back on the couch. "My mom's on a cruise and she won't be back until January. She didn't want to go, but I told her that I was going to be working most of the holiday anyway. Now I'm not. I'm just.... here."

 

You think about it for a while, staring at the TV. "Can't you direct a Christmas pageant or something? Just for something to do?"

 

She frowns for a moment before looking at you in disbelief, "I could direct the annual Christmas special on the public access channel." She actually looks excited.

 

You don't know what that is but you encourage her and tell her it's a great idea. She picks up her phone and realizes what time it was. "Does Brittany know where you are?"

 

You nod, "I told her."

 

"And she let you come?" Quinn asks, completely surprised.

 

You smirk, "Yes. Because I explained to her what I explained to Rachel and to you."

 

"What is that?" Quinn asks.

 

"That you need a friend." You finish off your drink and take the glass to the table. You furrow your eyebrows, "Speaking of, who were you having dinner with?"

 

Quinn waves you off, "It was just a friend from high school. I ran into Mack at a bar and she wanted to have dinner. We're not close. We're just... usually each other's ride home after a night at the bar."

 

You nod. You feel like there's a relationship there that Quinn can build as well.

 

You talk to her for another hour and then figure that it's time for you to go home. You make plans with Quinn to have lunch. You want to Rachel to be there too, but you're not sure Rachel would be into that.

 

When you get home it's a little after one. It's been a long, long day and you're just glad that you can crawl into bed with Brittany. You make sure to lock the door behind you and then check the back door to make sure it's locked. You poke your head into Summer's room to make sure that she's okay. She's sound asleep and you drop a soft kiss on her head.

 

Then you creep into your bedroom. You get changed in the bathroom and do your usual nightly routine. Then you walk to your side of the bed. Brittany is asleep with her phone in her hand. You take her phone from her hand and plug it in. Then you slip between the covers. She's facing away from you so you spoon behind her. You close your eyes and know that Quinn was right. Being loved by Brittany is the greatest feeling ever. You just hope that sometimes she feels like that about you. You want your love to make her feel like her love make your feel.

 

Brittany rolls over in your arms and places a sleepy kiss on your lips, "I'm glad you're home."

 

You kiss her forehead before she burrows into your chest, "Me too. Goodnight babe."

 

She hums her contentment and falls asleep in your arms.

 

When you wake up, Brittany is slowly waking up at well. You love waking up with her. You love watching her blue eyes meet the morning for the first time. She smiles and rests her forehead against your chest. "Good morning."

 

You give her a gentle squeeze, "Good morning."

 

"Is Summer up?" Brittany asks.

 

You look at the door of the bedroom. You don't see Summer and usually the first thing she does is come wake you or Brittany up. "I don't think so."

 

Brittany kisses your neck and then leans back so that she can kiss your lips, "How'd it go last night?"

 

You kiss her again and then rest your lips on her forehead as she lays back down. With one last kiss you answer, "I think it went well. We talked a lot. She's having some rough times right now and doesn't really know how to handle it. That's why she's acting crazy."

 

Brittany nods. "Thank you. I want to help, but I can't be around her right now."

 

"Don't worry about it," you tell her softly, "I'll take care of it."

 

You both lay in bed, chastely kissing until Summer comes streaking in the room and jumping on the bed.

 

This morning is your first foray to the grocery store with Brittany and Summer. You mostly follow them around and add some things that you want. Then you're in charge of wrangling Summer who keeps wanting to wander off.

 

Then when you get home and everything gets put up, Summer walks into the kitchen and asks when she's going to her grandparents' house.

 

You look over at Brittany. You didn't know that she was going. Brittany tells Summer that she's not going until after lunch.

 

"What are we doing?" you ask Brittany after Summer walks out.

 

Brittany smiles, "We're going on a date."

 

"Really?" you ask.

 

She nods, "So you should probably start getting ready around six."

 

"Oh a nice date?" you ask. You feel like you haven't really been on a really nice date with Brittany. Since moving in together, you don't really go on dates anymore at all.

 

She smiles wider, "Yes. A very nice date."

 

"I don't know if I have anything to wear," you answer and try to think of something in your closet.

 

Brittany grins, "I think you have a cocktail dress that you said you'd never have anywhere to wear it again."

 

She never fails to make you feel special in the most surprising ways. You have a few hours before you have to get ready so you, Brittany, and Summer sit around the table for a rousing game of Monopoly. Summer puts you and Brittany both to shame. You think that Brittany may have been letting her win, but you were trying your damnedest.

 

You and Brittany take Summer to her favorite old-fashioned diner for lunch. The women there love her and just dote all over her.

 

"I want a little brother," Summer says as she takes a bite of her food.

 

Brittany's eyes nearly bug out and you almost choke on your food. Brittany is the first to recover asking Summer, "Why do you want a brother?"

 

"My friend Albert just got a baby brother and he's so cute," Summer says, "And then I'd have someone to play with."

 

"Well you can't play with babies for a long time," Brittany says.

 

Summer's mouth twists up in thought. "Can I have one anyway?"

 

Brittany looks over at you with panic in her eyes. You are nowhere near ready to have a kid besides Summer. You still think you mess up with Summer sometimes. It's definitely not something that you've ever talked about. It's really not a good time either with Brittany starting to dance for Natalia.

 

You have no idea what to say and suddenly Brittany speaks, "How about a puppy instead?"

 

Your jaw drops. She's been telling you for at least a month that she wasn't sure about the puppy and suddenly she's offering one up in exchange for a baby.

 

"A puppy?" the smile on Summer's face gets huge, "Yes!"

 

You look over at her and raise an eyebrow. She just shrugs like she panicked and said the first thing that popped into her head.

 

You can't help, but smile back.

 

"When can we get the puppy?" Summer asks.

 

"We'll have to look around for the right one," you tell Summer although you've been researching this for a long time and are sure that you have found the right one.

 

"Can we go look today?" Summer asks hopefully.

 

Brittany shakes her head, "You have to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house soon."

 

"Tomorrow after school?" she asks with her hands folded in front of her, full on begging.

 

You look over at Brittany. She gives in and you have to figure out what you're going to get Summer for Christmas instead of a puppy because she'll already have one.

 

After you drop Summer off, you and Brittany head home. She gets into the shower first, but isn't there by herself for long. You get in right behind her and she washes you body like only someone who knows it intimately can. You return the favor plus one before you get out of the shower.

 

She goes to get ready in Summer's bathroom, telling you that you take up too much space inside of the bathroom for both of you to get ready in it.

 

When you're finally ready, Brittany's calling to you, telling you that if you don't hurry you're going to be late. You look at yourself in the mirror. The dress is really, really tight. You forgot how tight it actually was. You hope that it still looks okay. You grab a black half-length jacket because it's cold outside. It matches perfectly.

 

Brittany calls for you again and you get moving. You grab a black clutch out of your stuff and shove what you think you might need in it. Then you walk out into the kitchen and see Brittany standing there. She's in a bold red dress that makes your mouth water. It tapers off right below her knees, the right side brushing against her calf.

 

"You look incredible," she whispers, as if somehow you've taken her breath away.

 

You timidly reach forward and take her hand, "So do you."

 

She uses your intertwined fingers to pull you to her and kiss you. You weren't sure about this dress before, but the way she looked at you and the way she's kissing you now makes you feel so sexy.

 

She holds your hand all the way to the car and opens the door for you. Then she gets in the driver's seat.

 

You figured that you'd have to leave town to go to a restaurant that was nice dress worthy and when you leave the city limits, you look over at Brittany. There's a faint smile on her lips. She holds your hand all the way to wherever you're going.

 

You didn't expect her to pull up to a place where valet takes your car. You weren't really expecting this nice of a place. She gets out before you and helps you out of the car before the valet can.

 

When you walk into the restaurant Brittany gives her last name and you're immediately seated by a matre'd in a suit. Brittany holds your hand all the way through the mahogany paneled rooms. Large chandeliers hang from the ceiling and all the patrons are extremely well dressed.

 

You're seated at an intimate table for two. Brittany pulls out your chair for you, the picture of chivalry. You sit down and watch Brittany gracefully lower herself down in her chair.

 

"You didn't have to do this," you shake your head after you get your menu.

 

She smiles softly across the lit candles at you, "I know. But I wanted to."

 

You just smile back at her. You're sure you look ridiculous with a dopey smile on your face because she makes you so happy.

 

The food is really great. You don't think that you ever stop smiling through the whole meal. When the check comes, Brittany doesn't even let you start to reach for it. She doesn't let you see it either. You don't argue with her though. You want this night to go how she planned it.

 

When you leave, she takes your hand again. When you leave the restaurant, she doesn't take you to the valet station. Instead, you walk past it and down the street. You don't ask. You're just happy to be with her.

 

The street you walk down is nice. It's lit with signs on both sides of it, announcing theatres, clubs, and venues. Sometimes Brittany looks over at you and smiles lovingly at you. And you just melt.

 

Two and a half blocks later, she stops, opening the door of the building for you. You didn't see the sign, but when you step in you see an elegant bar with a jazz band softly playing in the back. There's a small dance floor where two couples are dancing slowly. You sit down at a tiny table in front of a booth seat and order drinks. Brittany's arm is around you and you lean into her. You pick up her free hand and hold it in both of your hands.

 

You could sit there forever with her. If you from a year ago could see you now, she'd probably roll her eyes because as you sit there with your head on Brittany's shoulder, you feel it. You know you are so in love with her. And you know it's real because it's not just moments like this where she does something drastically romantic that you know you're in love with her. You know that you are every second of every day. You know when you look at her in the morning when her eyes are half closed and her hair is sticking up everywhere. You know when she's singing in the shower and when she waits up for you at night when you get called in to do a surgery. There's never a time where you question it. You're so helplessly in love with her.

 

You both talk and smile halfway through your drinks. She stands up and offers her hand to you, "Will you dance with me?"

 

You place your hand in hers, "Always."

 

Left arm slips around the small of your back, pulling you to her. Then she takes your left hand in her hand and rests both of them against her collarbone. You look up at her and see her smiling down at you.

 

You dance for as long as she wants even though your feet are killing you after the first half hour. You enjoy getting to be with Brittany in her element.

 

Eventually, you mutually decide that it's time to go home. She takes you back to the valet. She opens the door for you again. This time you kiss her before getting in. She smiles and makes sure that you're in all the way before she shuts the door.

 

You hold hands all the way back to her parents' house. It's almost ten and Brittany's parents always wear Summer out so she's half asleep when you carry her to the car. Brittany thanks her parents and hugs them.

 

When you get home, you put Summer to bed, check all the doors to make sure their locked, and then check every room to make sure the lights are off. You walk into the bedroom and take off your heels. You step into the closet and put your heels back where they're supposed to go, in line with all the other shoes.

 

You step out of the closet and Brittany is sitting on the end of the bed. She stands up when she sees you and walks over to you, sweeping you up in a kiss. You know where she's going with this and you mumble, "Summer's here."

 

Brittany smiles, "She's asleep." She kisses you again and adds, "We have our own room. We can't drop Summer off with my parents every time we want to have sex."

 

You've resisted having sex with Summer in the house for this long. You understand what she's saying. You're just terrified that Summer is going to walk in and catch you in flagrante delicto.

 

Brittany kisses you again and intoxicates you with the simple move. You forget about your concerns and let Brittany unzip your dress. She slips it off of you and takes in the lingerie you're wearing. Her eyes meet yours and you see that she's been taken over by a hunger for you. You can't do anything, but let the hunger run it's course.

 

She backs you up to the bed, not letting your lips part. She braces herself on the bed with one hand and holds you by the small of your back with her other hand, slowly lowering you onto the bed.

 

You're a few orgasms into it when you have your fingers inside of Brittany, your forehead resting on hers when you hear a creak. You jump away from her and look at the door. There's no one there and when you peer out the door, you don't see anything.

 

Brittany takes a pillow and puts it on her face. She groans loudly. Then she throws the pillow at you, "Come finish before I do it myself."

 

You slowly make your way back to the bed and crawl over Brittany. "I'm sorry." You kiss her. Then you kiss down her body and finish her the way she deserves.

 

When you kiss your way back up her body, you kiss her lips. She deepens the kiss and then cuddles into you. "See? It wasn't the end of the world."

 

"I know," you nuzzle against her neck and softly kiss her there. "You were right. As usual."

 

She hums, "I like the sound of that." She bites her lip and looks over at you. There's a sly smile on her lips and you love it.

 

You roll your eyes and close your eyes, "Go to sleep."

 

She chuckles and wraps her arms around you, "I love you too."


	20. Soul Eyes by John Coltrane

When it comes time to pick out a puppy, you're over prepared. You know exactly what kind of puppy you want around Summer and what kind of food it needs, how easy it will be to train it and how much you’re going to love the puppy. You're sure she's going to love it too. You head to the animal rescue after Brittany and Summer leave the school.

 

Inside, you're greeted by a woman that you've talked to on the phone many times with questions that you’re sure she’s way over qualified to answer. Summer is bouncing on her toes while you tell the woman who you are. She smiles kindly at you and says that she remembers you. You follow the woman into an adjacent room where all the puppies are in separate pins, jumping around and barking their high pitched yelps.

 

You walk to the kennel that the woman told you that you had asked her about before and you see a little puppy in there. His blonde hair is a shade darker than Summer's and he hops over his kennel companions to get to you. The second Summer sees him, you know that he's the one she wants.

 

Brittany just smiles at the two of you being excited about the puppy. The woman and Brittany seem to know that you and Summer have set your hearts on this one and she goes to get a collar and a leash.

 

Summer plays with the puppy in the lobby while you and Brittany fill out the paperwork and pay. He keeps jumping up and down, and running around Summer, getting her tangled up in the leash.

 

Once the puppy is home, you and Brittany sit on the couch and watch Summer play with him. He tries to get to some of the Christmas ornaments on the tree, but he can’t reach and just ends up falling over himself. You readjust your head on Brittany's shoulder and ask Summer, "What's his name?"

 

"I don't know yet," Summer says after thinking for a moment, "I have to play with him first to figure out his name."

 

You smile up at Brittany and she smiles at you. She gives you a kiss. "Are you sure you're going to be okay tomorrow with Summer and the puppy while I go see Natalia tomorrow?"

 

"I'll be fine," you assure her. And you're sure that that's right until the next evening.

 

"Summer," you look at her and put your hands on your hips, "It's time for bed."

 

"But Mommy's not here," Summer pouts.

 

You run a hand through your hair. "She told me she wants you to go to bed. You have school tomorrow. As soon as she gets back she'll come in and say goodnight to you."

 

Summer frowns hard at you, "I don't want to go to bed."

 

You try to think of a way to get her at least into her room. Brittany's never going to let you watch Summer by yourself again if she gets home late and Summer isn't in bed. You stand up and take Summer's hand, "C'mon. I'll read you a book."

 

As you walk, the puppy runs after you, almost missing the door to Summer's room because he can't get traction on the wooden floor. He bounds into the room and tries to jump up on the bed, but he's just too small. You pick him up and put him on the bed. He licks Summer a few times before jumping down. He lies on your feet that are on the floor and stays there the whole time you're reading Summer a book. You picked a fairly long one so by the time you're done, Summer is asleep.

 

You kiss her goodnight and turn on her nightlight, smiling to yourself. You actually feel like you can do this. You make your way into the living room to wait for Brittany and the puppy runs after you. When you fall down on the couch, he jumps up after you. You love this little guy. He trips over himself and your body before coming to rest in your arms.

 

You turn on some soft music and look at your phone, wondering where Brittany is. You know that she said that it would be a while because she is going to dinner with Natalia to talk, but you miss her. As sad at that is, you really miss her and you saw her this morning over breakfast.

 

You didn't know that you drifted off to sleep until you feel a soft kiss on your lips, "Santana. Let's go to bed."

 

You open your eyes to see Brittany. You smile sleepily, "How did it go?"

 

She smiles at you and gives you another kiss, "It went great." She scratches the puppy's tummy.

 

You and Brittany go into the bedroom and lay down. The puppy tries valiantly to get up on the bed, but eventually Brittany scoots him up and drops him on the bed.

 

"Poor puppy," Brittany says ruffling his fur, "Poor puppy without a name."

 

You smile at Brittany. You want to move closer to her but the puppy is leaning up against her stomach. So you pout. "The puppy is in my spot."

 

Brittany scratches the puppy behind his ear and smiles at you, "Sorry."

 

Your jaw drops open and she laughs. Brittany moves the puppy to the other side of her and scoots over to you. The puppy keeps vying for attention and hops over Brittany onto you. You grab onto Brittany's waist and pull her flush against you. "She's mine," you growl at the puppy.

 

The puppy just licks your nose and you giggle. Brittany picks up the puppy and holds it above her to look it in the face, "She's mine."

 

You have to put the puppy on the ground eventually because he doesn't want to sleep and you do. He runs off and you're sure that he is in Summer's room. He slept in the doorway of her room last night.

 

"So," you say, cuddled up in Brittany, "What did you and Natalia decide?"

 

Brittany's fingers softly stroke the skin of your back. "If it's okay with you, I'll go in for a couple hours after work Tuesdays and Thursdays."

 

"Of course it's okay with me," you tell her.

 

"It'll be just you and Summer," she says like it might be a draw back for you.

 

"I know," you kiss her. "We'll be fine. I'll push off any surgery that's not an emergency and if it's an emergency, there's always your parents or Rachel. But I swear, we will be fine."

 

You can see her looking at you in the dark. She's quiet and you are dying to know what she's thinking. Before you can ask, she leans forward and kisses you. It's such a soft, sweet kiss with so much passion behind it, you're left breathless. "I couldn't do any of this without you."

 

"You could," you tell her.

 

She shakes her head, "No. I couldn't. I wouldn't have even thought about doing this. I never really wanted to think about it, but dance was always my dream and I... forced myself to give up on it."

 

You understand what she's saying, but you don't think that you should be credited with this. "I just want to help you be happy."

 

"You make me happy," she smiles and kisses you. "I'm so glad you found me."

 

"I'm so glad that you asked me to sit with you on my first day," you kiss her back.

 

Mornings at your house have become routine. You sleepily rifle through your scrub draw and pull out some light purple ones. Then go into the bathroom and get ready with Brittany running around you. You tell her that she doesn't have to, but you find a cup of coffee on the counter next to you after you're done brushing your hair. There hasn’t been a morning yet when you looked down at the counter at some point in the morning and you didn’t find a cup of coffee.

 

You and Brittany wanted to start taking one car, but you never know when you'll be done or if you'll get called to the hospital and you don't want them to have to wait around the elementary school for you. You kiss them both goodbye and wish them a good day.

 

As you're driving to the administration building, Brittany calls, "I forgot to tell you that your mom called. My mom called her and invited everyone to a get together at the Berrys' tonight."

 

"Okay," you tell her. You think it’s weird that it took a chain of calls to get you and Brittany to a party at Rachel’s house, "Do we need to bring something?"

 

"Can you pick up a bottle of wine and tomatoes on the way home?" she asks.

 

"Definitely," you smile. You love that Brittany asks you to get things now. Brittany was apprehensive at first about the joint bank account that you opened together, but then when you told her that only your school district paycheck would go into there, she agreed. All of your surgery money goes into a bank account that's yours, but she has access to it if she needs it. You know she'll refuse for a while, but you feel like you're starting to get past the financial issues you had before.

 

Of course right as you're getting back from lunch with Rachel, which you used as a platform to plead for an hour with Rachel to give Quinn a chance (you made plans to have lunch with both of them later in the week) you get called to the middle school for a soccer injury. The girl ends up with a fractured foot. An hour after you put her in the ambulance you get called to the hospital because her parents want a specialist to set it.

 

You call Brittany about the time you were supposed to be going home and tell her that you're still at the hospital. "We can make it on time if you bring me some clothes."

 

"Okay. I'm already at Rachel's house, but I'll run home and grab your clothes," she tells you.

 

"Oh no," you answer, "Since you're already there, you don't have to leave. I'll just run home."

 

"I'm going to come pick you up," she says with finality.

 

You smile and give in, "Fine."

 

When she picks you up she drops your clothes in your lap. "Get changing."

 

You kick off your shoes and untie your scrub bottoms as she takes off, "We're going to get arrested for public nudity." You push your pants down and readjust your underwear, glancing out the window, hoping that no one can see you.

 

"No we won't," you catch Brittany eyeing you. "You might. But I won't."

 

You roll your eyes, "Gee thanks."

 

"I'd come visit you in prison though," she gins because she knows that she can get away with anything with you.

 

You finish changing just as Brittany pulls to a stop in front of a huge house. It's approximately the size of Quinn's parents' house, but it's more inviting. Brittany walks right in the front door and you grab her hand. You realize that you don't actually know what this party's for. So you whisper to Brittany, asking her.

 

She smiles and kisses you, "Rachel's dad is in remission."

 

You smile as well. That's a great thing to celebrate. You can hear talking coming from the back of the house and Brittany holds your hand through a beautifully decorated living room. Little curios line the shelves, but they don't seem cluttered. There's a rhythm to how everything is put together. Even the little statute of Buddha in the bookcase seems to belong among the Broadway memorabilia and classic novels.

 

When you walk into the kitchen it's beautiful. The white cabinets and light countertops make the room bright even in faint light of the dreary day coming in through the windows and sliding glass doors that lead outside to a pool.

 

"Hey," your mom smiles when she sees you and gives you a hug.

 

"Hi," you hug her back, "I didn't know you knew Mr. Berry."

 

"We just met today," she smiles. "But as a doctor you know that remission is always a reason to celebrate."

 

More people start showing up and you find yourself talking with Sam, Puck, and Rachel's dad outside by the pool. No one is swimming because it's chilly outside, but the lights on the pool were turned on and the changing colors are nice to look at.

 

"So any wedding bells in the near future?" Hiram asks, "For any of you?"

 

All of you fall quiet. Puck looks away and Sam looks terrified. Since no one is going to say anything you kick at the ground, "Not in this state."

 

He chuckles and pats your arm, "It'll happen."

 

Puck and Sam both give you looks of gratitude. Especially Sam. You can’t imagine being put on the spot like that by the father of the girl you’re dating.

 

You break away from that group to walk inside. You see a group of kids playing in the living room. There seems to be a problem between Summer and a little boy. He keeps reaching for a toy dinosaur that she has in her hand.

 

"Summer," you lean on the back of the couch and look at her, "Are you sharing?"

 

"No," she frowns, "He's a butthead."

 

You quirk an eyebrow. "C'mere."

 

Summer huffs and drops the dinosaur. She trudges over to you and looks up at you. You look down at her. "Was that nice to call him a butthead?"

 

"No," Summer drops her head and looks at her hands.

 

"Was it nice not to share?" you ask, trying to refrain from thinking that she's cute when she's in trouble.

 

"No," she mumbles.

 

"Why don't you go say sorry to him and we'll go take a little time out?" you ask her.

 

She shuffles over to the little boy and says sorry. Then she walks back over to you and you both sit on the stairs for a little bit.

 

For the first few minutes, she looks mad at you. You really don't like that feeling, but you know that you now have the responsibility of caring for her and that means discipline. You just hope you don't have to do it often. You hate doing it.

 

Then after a while, she leans on you and you rub her back. You let her go play a minute after that and just sit on the stairs for a minute.

 

Brittany appears out of seemingly nowhere. She has a cup in her hand and smiles at you. "I saw what you did."

 

"What did I do?" you ask, wondering why she looks so happy with you.

 

She sits down next to you where Summer was and hands you the drink. "With Summer." She kisses your cheek. "I know you hate doing that."

 

"It wasn't too much?" you ask softly. "I'm not...her mom or anything." This isn't really something that you talked about before. It's just something that happened.

 

"I know," she looks at you lovingly, "But you are an adult and you're a very special adult to her because you live with us and you're my girlfriend. We’re a family now. I think that means that you can discipline her too."

 

"Just not with the hard stuff," you shake your head, "I can't handle that."

 

Brittany chuckles, "I'll deal with the hard stuff if you give her the birds and the bees talk."

 

That you can do. "Deal." You seal the deal with a kiss.

 

There's a knock on the front door and you and Brittany are the closest adults to it. You get up first and open the door. There's a very tall man standing there with two delivery bags in his hands that say Breadstix so you're very happy to see him. He looks vaguely familiar.

 

Brittany steps up behind you, "Hey Finn."

 

"Hey," he smiles crookedly back. "Rachel asked me to pick this up on my way over. There's more in my car."

 

You and Brittany help him unload the food. Brittany stops you from hoarding the breadsticks, but you still manage to nab enough of them to fulfill your carb requirements for a month.

 

After everyone eats, some people are getting ready to leave. Rachel taps on her glass with a knife and stands on a chair. She smiles and looks over everyone. "Before you all go, I'd like to say a few words. First I'd like to thank you so, so much for all of your support. It had been a long, hard road, but we came out the other side better people." She smiles at her dad. He smiles back and pats her leg. Then she continues. "These past few months we have learned new things and met new people." She smiles at you and you grin back. "We've all been faced with hard times and obstacles but through this we've all learned more about each other and ourselves. We've learned perseverance, compassion, acceptance, and love." She raises her glass, "Also, angels." Brittany, Sam, Finn, and Puck laugh and you're sure it's a glee club thing. "To family."

 

The crowd echoes, "To family."

 

You stay long enough to help clean up, but your mom tells you that she'll stay to help. You and Brittany have to get Summer to bed. Brittany puts Summer to bed while you check all of the doors with the puppy bouncing around your heels and then make sure Summer's nightlight is on. You step into your bedroom and kick off your shoes.

 

"I never got to ask you how your surgery went," Brittany says, shimmying out of her pants.

 

"It was fine. We didn’t think it needed surgery until I saw the x-ray," you yawn. "Mercedes hadn't come in yet so I was with that boring OR nurse that doesn't like music." You shake your head and walk to the bed. You fall on your front and close your eyes, ready to sleep. "I love you Britt."

 

You feel her gently push up your shirt and kiss the small of your back. "I love you too babe."

 

You roll over and pull her up your body. Then you hold her against you. You just want to hold her. She seems to want it to and just lays there.

 

You have a whole speech writing itself in your head about how much you love her and want to be with her and Summer forever. But before you can say it, you fall asleep with Brittany's head on your chest.

 

"Let the puppy wake her up," you hear Summer say.

 

You feel a little indentation in the bed before you realize that the puppy is moving toward you. It tickles when he smells your hair and you giggle when he starts licking your face. You push the puppy onto his back and scratch his tummy like you know he loves. He kicks his little foot and you laugh.

 

"Time for work," Brittany crawls onto the bed with you.

 

You look down at yourself, "I slept in my clothes."

 

"Which means you want to wash the sheets on the bed," Brittany smiles.

 

You nod and get up from the bed. You start stripping the bed and Brittany helps. You're weird about the bed and you love that Brittany loves that about you.

 

You put the sheets into the washing machine and go into the bedroom to change for work.

 

As you're walking out, Brittany reminds you, "Don't forget, I'm going with Natalia tonight. You have to pick up Summer from school."

 

"I totally remembered," you didn't actually remember, but you smile and kiss her, "We'll be fine. Pinkie promise."

 

As you walk toward the door, you step on one of Summer's stuffed animals that you're sure the puppy pulled out of her room to play with. You pick up the stuffed black cat and toss it onto the couch.

 

Your day goes by quickly because of the large amount of kids with sniffles and teenagers with 'headaches'. You're already at the elementary school when Summer gets out of class.

 

You see her in the hallway and she walks over to you. You take her hand and you both walk out to your car. You ask her about school and her classes. She gives the standard answers, 'fine' and 'okay'.

 

When you get back to the house, you make sure her homework is done before you let her go play, just like Brittany would want it. You spend about half an hour trying to find a recipe online that you can use to make dinner. You want to do this right to prove to Brittany that she can leave Summer with you and not worry. So when she gets home, dinner will be done and the house will be clean.

 

Summer asks to help and like always you let her. Then you made sure the living room is clean and the bed is made. When the front door opens, Summer runs to it. You follow her and smile when you see Brittany pick up Summer and hug her. "Did you have fun with Santana?"

 

"Yeah," Summer smiles, "We made dinner."

 

Brittany walks into the house and closes the door behind herself. She walks to you and kisses you. "Smells good."

 

"That's good because it looks like we scraped it off of the highway," you say back.

 

Brittany laughs and sets Summer down in her chair. "I'm sure it'll taste better than that."

 

You ask her about dance and she looks to excited. Natalia is kicking her ass, but in a good way. Natalia also cleared out her schedule just for Brittany to work with her one on one. You're so proud of Brittany. Even if nothing comes of this dancing, she's so happy.

 

After dinner, you send Brittany to the shower while you load the dishwasher. The puppy sits at your feet and begs for food. You give in and 'accidentally' drop some chicken on the ground.

 

Summer goes to get ready for bed and you go into the living room and start a fire. Then you sit down on the couch and look into the fire until Summer walks in. She crawls onto the couch and sits next to you.

 

"We had fun didn't we?" you ask her.

 

"Mhmm," she hums.

 

"Are you ready for bed?" you ask her.

 

She shakes her head, "I want Mommy."

 

"She'll be out of the shower in a minute," you kiss her head. "I'll read you a book while we wait."

 

She runs to her room to get a book and you wait patiently for her. When she runs back, she snuggles up next to you. About halfway through the book, you feel a furry ball on your feet. You look down and see the puppy wanting to get up. You grab him and set him in Summer's lap. She smiles at you and pets the dog.

 

Before you start reading again you look up and see Brittany silently walk in. She sits down next to Summer and listens to the rest of the book.

 

When you're done, you look over at Summer, "Bedtime?"

 

She nods sleepily. She slides off of the couch and you and Brittany stand with her. You wait at the door of Summer's room while Brittany tucks her in. You give her a kiss after Brittany's done and make sure her nightlight is on. After a quick sweep of the house and a check of the doors, you meet Brittany in the bedroom. She's stretching on the floor. You drop a kiss on her head as you make your way to the bed.

 

As you change, you see the puppy run in. He can't stop on the wooden floor so he slides right into Brittany's leg. She pets him as he tries to change direction toward you.

 

"Aww he loves me," you pick him up when he jumps on your leg.

 

"Because you feed him leftovers," Brittany says, reaching forward and pulling her head toward her feet.

 

You smirk, "Maybe." He's just so cute you can't help it.

 

You get ready to go to bed and lay there with the puppy, watching Brittany. She finishes up and gets ready herself. Then she slides into the bed, the puppy hopping over a mountain of blankets to her.

 

She pets him and then puts him on the floor so that he can run back to Summer's room.

 

Brittany starts as she turns off the last light in the room, "What was growing up in Chicago like?"

 

You hold up the blankets so that Brittany can slip under and then you rest your arm on her, "It was great. I learned a lot growing up there."

 

"Like what?" she asks, still wide-awake.

 

"I learned about different kinds of people," you shrug, "All different kinds of people. I learned that the world was so much bigger than what I could see because I heard stories from different people. There's so much culture there. I know the snobs in New York think they're the only ones with culture, but in Chicago we give them a run for their money."

 

Brittany chuckles, "Okay."

 

"Why?" you ask her.

 

She takes a deep breath that turns into a soft sigh, "No reason."

 

You don't really believe that, but you're not going to push it if she doesn't want to. You kiss her forehead then her lips, settling in for a good night's sleep.

 

"My shoelace broke," Summer walks into the kitchen. She looks sad and you frown. You look down the shoe she's talking about. It is completely wrecked. You bite your lip and tell her to sit at the table. Then you look around the kitchen for something to fix it with. Then you get an idea. You run to your bathroom, grab something, and run back. Summer looks at you like you're crazy, but once you use the floss to fix her shoe, she seems impressed.

 

Summer skips out of the kitchen and you smile to yourself. You feel good about that. You turn back to the sink and finish up the dishes. You're a good parent. Or are you a parent at all? You don't think you have an official title really. You're just... Santana. It's weird to think of it in terms of formal labels because Summer feels like your kid. Brittany feels like your...

 

"Summer tells me that you fixed her shoe with floss," Brittany says walking into the kitchen all dressed and ready for work.

 

"I did," you grin, "Genius right?"

 

She laughs and kisses you, "Yes. Genius." She looks at your clothes and asks, "You're not going to work?"

 

You shake your head, "I'm all caught up on paperwork and stuff. I'll make my rounds after lunch, but I'm going to take the morning off before I meet Quinn and Rachel for lunch."

 

Brittany becomes absolutely still as she looks at you, "Together?"

 

You nod. "Quinn's trying and Rachel's trying."

 

"I don't like you being around Quinn," Brittany sets her jaw and she looks down at her shoes.

 

"She's not going to hit me again," You tell Brittany.

 

"You don't know that," Brittany says softly, "She's changed. She's not the girl I feel in love with."

 

You know that Brittany doesn't understand. Quinn has hurt her more than once. You can't really articulate why you feel the need to help her. You bite your lip and ask, "Do you not want me to go?"

 

Brittany closes her eyes, "I can't tell you what to do."

 

"But you can tell me what you want," you hook your fingers through her belt loop and pull her toward you.

 

"I want her to go back to the way she was," Brittany rests her forehead on your shoulder.

 

"I don't think that'll ever happen," you tell her, "But I think she can be a nice person. She just needs someone to care."

 

Brittany looks into your eyes and you just look back, "I'm going to call Rachel right after to ask her how it went."

 

"That's fine," you say back.

 

"I love you," Brittany says. "I know I sound crazy, but Quinn's smart. I don't want her to hurt you."

 

You kiss her, trying to convince her without words that you'll be okay and that you love her. You feel her inhale through her nose as she deepens the kiss, pouring herself into it. You love the way her hands hold the small of your back, pulling you up against her. It makes you feel like she wants you so badly, she's just trying to find a way to get your body as close to hers as she can.

 

"Eww!" Summer squeals from the other side of the kitchen. You hear her scream and run away.

 

Brittany breaks the kiss with a smile and gives you one last peck before she pulls away.

 

You grab onto the front of Brittany's shirt, pulling her back down for one last really great kiss. "You have to stop being so hot or we're going to traumatize Summer."

 

Brittany smiles and kisses you, "Right back at you." She pulls you into her arms and hugs you, "Call me okay?"

 

"Okay," you tell her, "But I'm really going to be fine."

 

She looks at you like she doesn't believe you and you're sure that she doesn't, but you're sure you'll be okay.

 

You meet Quinn and Rachel at a bar & grill that Rachel suggested. They're both already there and standing silently next to each other when you arrive. Once you're seated, you smile at both of them. "How are you guys?"

 

Quinn keeps her eyes on her glass, but Rachel starts talking, like Quinn isn't there, "My dad is feeling much better. He's even talking about going back to work."

 

"Your dad is better?" Quinn asks softly.

 

Rachel's eyes land on Quinn and she slowly nods.

 

Quinn offers her a soft smile, "I'm glad."

 

This is actually looking like it's going to be a nice lunch. You smile and look over at Rachel, "What are you going to do now?"

 

"What do you mean?" she asks.

 

"Well, you came back because of your dad," you look over the menu. "He's better now."

 

"Oh," Rachel takes a deep breath, "I haven't really thought about that. I guess I could go back to New York."

 

You nod, "You should do that."

 

"My lease to my apartment in New York is about to be up," Quinn offers as the waiter appears. "I bet I could get you in there."

 

"Hey, what can I get you ladies today?" the waiter asks.

 

You make sure to make it clear that you're paying so Quinn won't end up drinking water and eating a side salad because she doesn't have any money. She ends up with soup and half a sandwich, which you think is a good thing. Rachel gets a garden salad and soup. You get a jalapeno burger with fries and don't feel bad about it. When Brittany gets home you plan on working it off.

 

"Why would you do that for me?" Rachel asks Quinn across the table.

 

Quinn shrugs and tries to play it off, "I can't use it. You might as well take it."

 

"You're not going back to New York?" Rachel asks, thoroughly confused.

 

Quinn shakes her head. "I don't have a job anymore. No one wants to put me in their shows."

 

"So you're just going to give up?" Rachel asks, nonchalantly, but you know that she's trying to get a rise out of Quinn.

 

"I was forced out," Quinn counters.

 

You think about intervening, but you feel like Rachel may be able to poke Quinn's cage in just the right way to get her to wake up.

 

"You were forced to come back to Lima?" Rachel asks, spearing her salad.

 

Quinn puts her soup spoon down, "What else was I supposed to do?"

 

"You know that theatre is a tough business," Rachel states, "You just have to keep going. I'm sure that failed show you were in is forgotten now because there have been fifty other failed showers. I think you got comfortable and then it was pulled out from under you and you got scared and you wanted back the last time where you felt safe. That's why you wanted to come back to Lima and why you wanted Brittany."

 

Quinn looks like she's about to get up, but you look over at her, "Why don't you try again? Go back to New York, this time with someone going through the same things you're going through."

 

"With me?" Rachel squeaks.

 

"Why not?" you ask. "It's always better with someone in your corner."

 

Quinn looks down at her food and Rachel seems to actually be thinking it over. Rachel looks up from her thoughts and says, "My first roommate in New York was a sex addict."

 

Quinn smirks, "Mine was a chain smoker. The smell got on everything."

 

"Maybe we should," Rachel offers a metaphorical olive branch across the table.

 

Quinn seems to think it over for a little while before nodding, "Why not?"

 

"Great," Rachel smiles, "We'll figure out when we're going to leave later."

 

Quinn agrees. After that, the conversation flows easily. Rachel asks how Brittany's dance is going and how you're handling being a parent.

 

"It's a change," you smile, "But a good one. Summer's amazing. She's a great kid."

 

Quinn even forces a smile when you look at her. Then her smile turns real when Rachel brings up New York again. Quinn may not really be over what happened with you, Brittany, and her, but now she’s moving on.

 

You feel like you've done something good here. When Rachel and Quinn aren't fighting and competing, they can be great friends. Just like you thought. So when lunch is over, you check the time and see that Brittany's on her lunch break. You text her and ask her to meet you at home.

 

You walk into your house and see that Brittany's already there. She stands up from where she was on the couch and walks over to you, "What's wrong?"

 

You drop everything you're holding on the floor and attack her with a kiss. You pull her shirt over her head and push down her pants before you're sure she knows what's going on. She catches on quickly though and kicks off her pants, pulling you toward the couch. She tries to push you down on it, but you're not having any of that. You're going to take control this time.

 

You worship her body without her ever getting anything, but your shirt off. You watch her eyes slip closed and her back arch in ecstasy more than once. You'll never get over how beautiful she is. Even now as she looks down at you, her chest rising and falling as she catches her breath.

 

You kiss her stomach, the place between her breaths, and her neck before kissing her lips. You kiss her deeply and slowly, drawing out how long your lips and tongues slide together.

 

"So nothing is wrong?" Brittany asks with a hazy smile.

 

You smile back, "No, nothing's wrong." You kiss her, tell her that you love her and add, "Everything is perfect."

* * *

The End

Epilogue coming soon.


	21. Mine by Taylor Swift

"C'mon," you tell the dog as he's about to pull you past your building. The doorman smiles at you as he opens the door and you smile back, "Thanks."

 

"Pretty soon you'll be able to put a saddle on him and ride him around the block," the doorman chuckles.

 

"I can't wait," you call over your shoulder. Logan knows exactly where to go and sits down in front of the elevator, waiting. You still don't know about his name, but after seeing five minutes of the X-Men movie, Summer named him Logan.

 

When the doors open, you and Logan get inside. You wonder if you can teach him how to press the button for your floor.

 

When you open the door your mom stands up from the couch, "Where have you been? We're going to be late."

 

You let Logan off of his leash and kicks off your sneakers, "I know. I didn't see what time it was. My boss gave me a surgery at the last minute," you eye her. "And if I don't walk Logan before we leave, he'll make a mess. I'm going to take a quick shower."

 

"I didn't think that the OR would be backed up," your mom raises her hands. "But you know how slow Dr. Nash moves."

 

"Then stop scheduling him before me," you call peeling your shirt off as you walk to your bedroom. You yell out of the door as you pull off your pants, "Summer! Are you ready?!"

 

"Almost!" she calls back.

 

"I had to schedule him before you," your mom says in the doorway of your bedroom.

 

"You're the chief of surgery," you huff at her, "You don't have to do anything you don't want."

 

"I can't show favorites," she says, leaning on the door.

 

You pull your hair out of the ponytail, "You can show favorites to the best ortho surgeon in Chicago." You shoot her a playful smile.

 

She smiles at you. It's a proud smile and she nods, "I guess I can." She pushes off the doorframe, "Hurry, the Pierces will be here any minute. We're meeting Quinn and Rachel there?"

 

"Yeah, their flight from La Guardia was delayed so they're coming straight from the airport," you say and walk into the bathroom.

 

After a really quick shower and the fastest hairstyle of your life, you slip on your dress and pick up your shoes as you walk out of the bedroom. You smile when you find The Pierces sitting on the couch. Summer is sitting in the armchair in her pretty dress that she picked out just for tonight.

 

"You look stunning," Mr. Pierce says to you and gives you a hug.

 

You smile and accept the hug, "Thank you. You look pretty great too."

 

"Can we go now?" Summer asks from her place on the couch.

 

"Yes," you nod, "Just let me grab my clutch." You run into your room and transfer your necessities into your clutch before meeting everyone at the door.

 

The theatre is more beautiful than you imagined it and everyone is dressed so elegantly. You can feel your hands shaking as they hold onto your clutch.

 

"Hey," you hear Rachel say. You turn around and her face goes from a smile to a frown, "Are you okay?"

 

"I'm just nervous," you tap your clutch and see Quinn standing behind Rachel.

 

Quinn chuckles, "I'm sure you'll do fine."

 

"I'm not doing anything," you narrow your eyes at her, but she just laughs.

 

"It's very endearing how worked up you are," Rachel says as she hugs you and then moves on to the rest of your family.

 

Quinn touches your shoulder, "Are you going to be okay?"

 

You nod. "Yeah I think so." You take a deep breath, "How was your flight?"

 

"It was okay," Quinn smiles, "Rachel, however...." she trails off with a flip of her hand, "She almost broke my arm during some turbulence over Pennsylvania."

 

"How was O'Hare?" you ask, this conversation calming you, "I know sometimes it's a nightmare."

 

"It wasn't that bad because we went right from the plane to a cab," Quinn says to you and then says hi to everyone else.

 

You finally get to go inside and sit down. You think that you have the perfect seat. You want to be able to see the entire stage. You refuse to miss anything.

 

When the lights dim, your breath catches in your throat. An entire two minutes later, when she steps onto the stage, tears fill your eyes and spill over. Seeing Brittany dance in front of a sold out crowd makes your hear soar. There are other dancers on the stage, but you only see Brittany.

 

When she sees you crying, Brittany's mom sniffles and takes your hand. You glance over at her and see her in much the same state you're in.

 

You're rapt for the entire show and you can't rip your eyes away from Brittany.

 

The show goes by so quickly for you that you're surprised when the curtains close. But you're the first person on your feet, clapping for the dancers and more specifically, your dancer.

 

You look over at Summer and she's standing, clapping her littler heart out. You smile and rest your hand on her head. She looks up at you and calls over the applause, "Mommy was so pretty."

 

You nod and kiss her forehead, "She was."

 

You find that Rachel is bawling and Quinn is trying not to, but you can see a singular tear track down her face. Your mom can't stop smiling.

 

As you're all waiting by the back door for Brittany, you all talk about how well she did. Summer takes your hand and looks at the door. "Maybe we should go in and get her."

 

You quirk an eyebrow at Summer. She just grins up at you. Like she did when you were packing up your house in Lima when she put your car keys in a box that you had just taped up because she didn't want you to forget them on the long road trip to Chicago.

 

"What's going on?" you ask her.

 

"C'mon let's go in," Rachel waves to you and walks to the door. She catches it before it closes after a pair of dancers walk out.

 

"Are you sure we should?" you ask, but she pulls you inside.

 

Everyone follows with Rachel and Quinn who are leading the way. Rachel's arm is hooked through Quinn's and they talk about how most backstages look the same. You're holding Summer's hand and slowly walking through the hallways. They're mostly painted black. Then you pass banks of make-up mirrors that have been recently cleaned up. Then just beyond that you see the stage. Brittany's standing in the middle of it.

 

Everyone walks over to her and hugs her. Eventually you get your turn and kiss her, "You were so amazing."

 

"It felt amazing," she smiles and kisses you again.

 

"Are you ready?" you ask her. She's wearing black pants and a blue zip-up hoodie over a grey cami. You wonder if she’ll want to go out for dinner or just go home. You bet she’s exhausted.

 

She smiles at you, "Almost."

 

You hear a giggle and then look behind Brittany. You can see a few of her dancer friends hiding behind the legs of the stage. They all have huge smiles on their faces. Then you look behind you. Rachel is holding onto one of Quinn's arms, hiding her mouth behind Quinn's shoulder, but you know she's grinning from ear to ear. Brittany's dad has his arms around his wife with smiles on their faces. Your mom is holding Summer's hand.

 

"What's going on?" you ask, looking back at Brittany, but this time when you look at her you have to look down. Because she's on one knee. And there's a ring in her hand.

 

Tears jump to your eyes. You never expected any of this. You feel like you can't breathe. You start nodding even before she asks. She smiles and finishes the question anyway, "Will you marry me?"

 

You can't make words because you're crying so hard, but you continue nodding. She slips the ring on your finger. It's a perfect fit. Then she stands up and wraps her arms around you.

 

You cling to her and close your eyes. Cheers erupt from the small crowd of dancers and your family.

 

You pull away enough to kiss her and the cheers get louder. You smile into the kiss and rest your forehead against hers. Finally you manage to get out, "Yes."

 

"I love you," she picks you up and twirls you around.

 

You laugh out your answer, "I love you too."

 

You get married on the same stage five months later with all of your families and friends. At the reception in a hotel a few blocks away, Summer makes a speech. "Today my Mommy is marrying Santana." Summer says, reading off of her paper that she proudly told you earlier that she wrote herself. "I'm so happy that they finally got married." She pauses for some 'aww's. You look over at Brittany and take her hand before looking back at Summer. "I know that Santana loves my Mom and me. We love her too. I'm glad she's going to love us forever because she's my mom now too." Tears start pouring out of your eyes. Summer grins and adds, "And now when they go on their honeymoon, I get to go. We're going to Disney World."

 

Everyone laughs. When Summer jumps down from the chair she was standing on, she runs over to you and Brittany. You pick up Summer and set her in your lap, giving her a hug. "That was so pretty baby girl."

 

"Thanks," she hugs you around your neck. "Can I call you Mom now?"

 

Tears just keep running out of your eyes and you nod. You look over at Brittany who is crying as well. You kiss her and then kiss Summer's head. They've been your family for a while now and now Summer is calling you mom. You can't imagine how your life could be anymore perfect.

 

Actually you can. You and Brittany have been trying to have another child for a few weeks. You're going to tell her tonight that you're pregnant.

 


End file.
